At night it collects separated waste door to door, during the day it recycles into a winning coach. Garbage collector by choice and necessity, football manager by vocation and who knows, maybe in the future also as a profession. But not now, now Cristian Soave needs a secure salary to support his three children. Because only one comes to the house, his wife Elisabetta has gone to heaven and he is left alone, even if luckily his grandparents are there. Soave, 50 years old, a former striker of a good level between series D and C, has just achieved a historic sporting result: he brought the team from Caldiero, a spa town in the Veronese area with 8 thousand inhabitants, to the professional ranks. The promotion to Serie C is a historic achievement, for the club and for the garbage collector technician.
Soave, she wins on the bench after spending the night working.
“It’s true, but it’s a job I chose on purpose.”
To be able to train?
“Exactly, at 10 in the morning I finished my shift and I can dedicate myself to the team from 3 to 6 pm.”
Excuse me, but how many hours do you sleep?
“Few. I get up at 3, so when I can I catch up on something in the late morning, but usually I’m in bed by 9.30-10pm.”
Don’t watch the games?
“The problem is that, when the Champions League is on, I sleep less.”
As a striker he was good.
“I played between series D and C, from Brescia’s youth team to Mantua, then Arzignano, Mestre, Pordenone, Portogruaro, Trento, Bassano. I scored 246 goals between amateurs and professionals, I’ve been coaching for 14 years.”
And he wins.
“Between Villafranca Veronese and Dro I gained some satisfaction, with Caldiero we first went up to D, then I got the UEFA license, then Desenzano, Breno and Caldiero again”.
Where he won Serie D with 77 points.
“I can assure you that there is a lot of work behind this result, hours of video analysis in addition to training.”
Will he now leave his job to coach among the professionals?
“No, I have responsibilities. I’ll see if I ask for a part-time job or a leave of absence, but that job is my safety and that of my children.”
How did you end up as an ecological operator for Serit, the Verona waste company?
“I tried to think about the future after football before it was too late. I love this world and I would like to be part of it, but I had gotten a license to drive trucks and so I entered the competition. In 2014, after a few fixed-term contracts, I was hired.”
What is the pay, if possible?
“No problem. By working many nights, I earn around two thousand euros a month. It’s well deserved, trust me, it’s a tough job. And it’s convenient, with three children.”
Also because you are a widower.
“Five years ago I lost my wife Elisabetta, she was 40 years old and had a degenerative autoimmune disease. We cared for her at home as long as we could, then we had to take her to a facility. It was very hard, a beating even for the boys”.
Who are now grown-ups.
“Eddie is 23 years old, Jacopo is 18 and Elisa is 15. They are independent, when they were younger my parents and Elisabetta’s mother helped me a lot to wake them up and take them to school while I was at work. Them and the changing room they were fundamental in allowing me not to leave football, they knew that it was important for me. The boys are my first fans, they send me links to the highlights, they would like me to be a coach so maybe I earn more…”.
Well, it will be nice to have them around.
“We scored the decisive goal against Virtus Ciserano in the 95th minute. My son Eddie jumped on me and told me: “Dad, mom scored that goal”. And I believe it too.”
