Pablo Mari recovered from his stabbing with a fire in his heart, growing into an important leader on the pitch for an in-form Monza.
The 29-year-old Spanish centre back joined Silvio Berlusconi’s club on a loan deal with a conditional obligation to buy clause attached from Arsenal last summer, returning to Italy after a positive six-month spell with Udinese.
Mari was stabbed in the back and shoulder in a Carrefour in the outskirts of Milan in late October in an attack that killed 47-year-old employee Luis Fernando Ruggieri, forcing him to undergo an operation. The incident forced him to miss four Serie A matches and left him understandably shaken.
As highlighted by Calciomercato.com, since making his Monza return, Mari has grown into an incredibly important part of Raffaele Palladino’s squad, being a vocal and professional leader in the centre of defence.
In Monza’s shock 2-0 win over Juventus in Turin, the Arsenal loanee completed 49 passes, five clearances, four recoveries and three successful ground duels, being an anchor in their upset victory at the Allianz Stadium.
Monza now look on track to survive their first ever Serie A season and Mari is a crucial reason why, bouncing back after a horrific incident.