In the second part of his exclusive interview with Football Italia, Udinese goalkeeper Marco Silvestri reveals why former Leeds United President Massimo Cellino froze him out and predicts Tottenham Hotspur ‘will love’ Destiny Udogie.
Silvestri spent three years at Leeds United, moving to England in 2014 from Cagliari. Both clubs were owned by Massimo Cellino at the time, with the English club playing in the Championship.
“In the first six months at Cagliari, Cellino was crazy for me. In fact, he brought me to Leeds,” Silvestri tells Football Italia.
“He adored me and I was the regular starter in the first two seasons in England. Then things changed for a decision which made no sense. He got the wrong idea about me. He froze me out of the team and signed another goalkeeper, Rob Green, who had great experience in England.
“Then he reintroduced me to the team, but I was the second-choice ‘keeper. I only played cup games, but at least I got some satisfaction. We reached the League Cup quarter-finals, playing against Liverpool at Anfield. I was named the best goalkpeer in the competition that season, it was a great satisfaction even if I was not the right person to sit on the bench.”
Silvestri played a key role in Leeds’ League Cup campaign, saving three penalties in the fourth round against Norwich (see the video above), but why did Cellino get mad at him?
“It was an off-the-pitch issue, it made no sense,” he recalls. “I had spoken to an English agent because it was my third year in England, I was young and I wanted to sound out potential opportunities.
“We only spoke, I didn’t sign anything, I didn’t talk about transfers. This agent was interested in following me and we only talked to each other. Cellino knew it and got mad. When I explained the situation, it was too late. I don’t know if he ever understood it, but life goes on.”
Did he join Leeds because of Cellino?
“I wanted to stay in Italy even if English football was attractive,” Silvestri concedes. “Leeds are an appealing club and when Cagliari hired Zdeněk Zeman as a coach, I thought I wouldn’t be a good fit to play under him. I knew I wouldn’t play if I had stayed, so Cellino offered me the chance to follow him in Leeds.”
During his three-year spell in England, Silvestri played 98 games with the Yorkshire club, gaining plenty of experience, on and off the pitch.
“Obviously it’s important to learn English, there were many Italians so I guess I should have learned it a little better, but my level is decent. English football made me less naive on the pitch because it’s a very physical and challenging league. Referees rarely see fouls on goalkeepers.”
In his debut in English football in 2014, Silvestri complained about a potential foul on him, but the referee just ignored him, saying ‘welcome to England.’
“That was incredible, it was a clear foul,” says Silvestri, smiling.
“But that’s how it works there. Street smarts are needed and I stood up for myself once I learned that. I had a lot of fun. The league was amazing, very long, and complicated, but also challenging and motivating. There were many matches, which I liked, because I prefer playing games to training.
“The stadiums were amazing; pitches were perfect. It would have been great to get a Premier League promotion, but it’s a very tough league. You need consistency and a high-level team to make it, 30 players of a very high level.”
Silvestri enjoyed Leeds on and off the pitch and still remembers their fans with affection.
“London is a huge city so having 50,000 or 60,000 fans in a stadium almost goes unnoticed. Leeds is smaller, a million people are living there and there’s just one football club, Leeds United.
“You feel the pressure, but it’s a positive one. People would stop me in the streets asking for pictures. They are never negative about football. If they see commitment, if they see you give your all, they will never blame you.
“I never saw problems at the stadiums, before, during or after games. It never happened. Fans never booed us even when we lost. If they see the intensity and the commitment they are happy. Different from Italy, it all ends at the end of the game.
“To me, the fact that television is not so influential is also nice. When I was there, we used to play on Saturdays and sometimes Sundays. Not all games were shown on TV. Games are meant to be watched at the stadium, not on TV. I liked it so much.”
Thanks to his experience in England, Silvestri has had the chance to give some tips to his Udinese teammate Destiny Udogie, who will join Tottenham at the end of the season.
“I’ve known Udo for four or five years. We’ve played at Verona and here. I’ve seen him grow and improve,” says the 31-year-old.
“Destiny is a hard worker, Antonio Conte will love him. The only thing is that [Udogie] should only focus on the pitch. London has so much to offer, but I am convinced he won’t have problems and that he will play a lot because he is a devastating player.”
Additional reporting by Susy Campanale.