During his interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, Nicolò Fagioli said he would give his all to be part of the final Italy squad for Euro 2024 and that Juventus would fight for the Scudetto next season.
Fagioli spoke for the first time since the end of a seven-month ban for gambling which forced him out of action for the majority of the 2023-24 campaign.
Firstly, he explained how and why he started gambling but then he also spoke about which teammates helped him the most and his targets for the future.
“The club, first of all [helped me],” said Fagioli.
“By extending my contract, they proved great trust and closeness. Then coach Allegri and my teammates. I think about Locatelli, Gatti, Chiesa, Bremer and Vlahovic. For the rest, I’ve fought with the help of a therapist. I filled my days after training sessions with tennis, padel, treatment, and meetings with the schools. I had kept this dirty secret inside me for years, now I can talk about it as I am doing now,” said the 23-year-old midfielder.
When can such an addiction be considered over?
Perhaps, never. I have not stopped fighting,” Fagioli admitted.
“I’d lie if I said that sometimes it doesn’t emerge and tries to attract me with its seducing chant, but now I can dominate it, thinking about how much it hurt me. And the ‘I’ll do it only once’ does not exist because that snake clings to you and doesn’t let you go. Now I think that gambling is for losers.”
Fagioli returned to action on May 20 coming off the bench as a substitute in a 3-3 away draw at Bologna.
“I had a great desire for redemption. I started training hard from day one,” he said.
“Those seven months were an agony. I counted the days. My life is here, on those football pitches, where I can win or lose because of my talent and because of my team. It’s not about wasting my days and hundreds of thousands of euros to ruin my days and feel guilty.”
Fagioli opens up about Italy, Euro 2024 and future at Juventus
Italy CT Luciano Spalletti has included Fagioli in the preliminary 30-man squad for Euro 2024. Did he expect it?
“No, but I believed in it. Now, I want to give my life to be in the Euro 2024 squad,” said the Juventus midfielder.
“If I don’t make it, I’ll support the Azzurri. I started playing football when I was four. At 16, I left home because Juventus had called me. I left my parents, who have continued following me without putting pressure on me. They were very worried for me. Now, I imagine them happy, and I’d want them to be proud of me with the Azzurri jersey.”
Fagioli has made eight appearances across all competitions this season. Will he become the starting Regista at the Allianz Stadium next season?
“I’d like it. I used to play as an attacking midfielder, but then Pirlo and Allegri made me understand that I could play in front of the defence. Now I feel ready to do it even if I sometimes want to score. Juventus will play five competitions next season and it will be so good to play every three days. That’s what I like. Our next target, as usual for Juventus, is to win the Scudetto.