Udinese goalkeeper Marco Silvestri recalls his mind games with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, reveals his passion for hockey and the Toronto Maple Leafs and offers his view on Serie A’s ‘biggest problem’ in an exclusive interview with Football Italia.
When Marco Silvestri joined the Zoom meeting after a training session in Udine, he had his hair down. Does that mean he’d display a different hairstyle in the next match, against Inter, dropping the cornrows he’s shown Serie A fans to over the last few months?
“No, no,” he says, smiling. “The hairstyle won’t change.
“I’ve always wanted to have long hair. It’s a style I’ve never had, but it’s annoying. I still haven’t learned how to do a ponytail, and it drives me mad to always have hair in my face, so the most comfortable solution is to have cornrows.”
Born in Castelnovo ne’ Monti in 1991, Silvestri will turn 32 next month, on March 2. Not many know that the ex-Leeds United man used to play as a forward when he was a kid, although he quickly shifted his focus and moved in the opposite direction on the pitch.
“I was six or seven when I started playing football and I liked to play as a striker,” he says.
“However, even at that age, I played a little as a goalkeeper. I was the youngest among my cousins and my brother, so they used to put me in goal and I quickly moved between the sticks.”
With 131 Serie A appearances, Silvestri is one of the most experienced goalkeepers in Italy’s top flight, despite being still relatively young especially for a player in his position. What does it take to remain at a high level in the long run?
“I believe the most important thing is to conduct a healthy life and rest. In the end, what we want to is to play as much as possible. It’s in our interest to play for as long as we can,” he explains.
“I have a very quiet life, I have two sons, a family, so I am a father off-the-pitch. It’s demanding, but at the same time it’s healthy. We eat a lot at home, we go to sleep early. All these things bring benefits in the long run.
“We have two nutritionists at the club who follow us. Players always have breakfast and lunch at the club’s canteen. I have experience now, so I know what to eat for dinner. However, those who need it, can get the food here and take it home for dinner.”
The club’s organisation is one thing that makes Udinese so unique.
“It’s very organised, training facilities are excellent,” Silvestri continues. “The club gives us everything and even more.
“It’s organised like a top club. Obviously, they expect the same from us, but we lack nothing here. The staff is incredible, all of them, it’s all running smoothly so we players feel at ease and can fully focus on training. The club think about the rest.”
The Bianconeri have won just one of the last five games, but the start of the season was impressive, with victories against Roma and Inter at the Dacia Arena. They are now in the race for a European spot.
“I think the start was extraordinary, then we had a little drop,” notes the 31-year-old.
“Opponents have started facing us differently and this affected us. Serie A is a very challenging league and when opponents get to know you, it becomes more difficult. All in all, I believe 30 points in this moment of the season are many, we only need to continue as we are doing. I am convinced many other wins will come.”
Udinese hired Andrea Sottil as their new coach last summer, a club legend in his first Serie A season in the dugout.
“It’s his first year in Serie A and he is learning but the thing that surprised me the most is his motivation,” says Silvestri.
“He started his career in the lower leagues and I admire him for this. He is always so motivated in every training session, every time you talk to him. You can tell he wants to become an important coach.”
It’s not only football for Silvestri, who watches many matches on TV, but also has a passion for hockey.
“I love watching it on TV, I have never been to the USA to watch a hockey game, but I’d like to do so. I love this sport. The first time I watched hockey live was here in Udine a month and a half ago. It was Italy’s Youth Olympic Team and I loved it.
“My favourite team are the Toronto Maple Leafs and my favourite player is Auston Matthews. I like the fact that games are played at an incredible pace and that the goalkeeper is a sacred figure.
“After every game, all players salute the goalkeeper and if he is touched during a match, that’s when clashes begin.”
There were no arguments in 2020 when Silvestri, who was playing for Hellas Verona at that time, distracted Zlatan Ibrahimovic during an away match at Milan. Games were played behind closed doors and Silvestri was heard shouting Ibra: ‘You missed the last one’ before the Swede sent his penalty over the bar. The incident can be seen below, around three minutes in.
“Ibra is an exceptional player, but I had the feeling that taking a penalty in empty stadium would have been like taking it in a park for him, very simple,” reveals the goalkeeper.
“I wanted to make him think. Perhaps he would have missed the penalty regardless, or it contributed to making him miss it. I guess I’ll never know. I thought it was the only weapon I had at that moment. He didn’t tell me anything after that, he scored later on, so it ended in a draw between us.”
Silvestri has gone on to play for Modena, Padova, Reggiana, Chievo and Hellas Verona and spent three years at Leeds United under Massimo Cellino before his move to Udinese in 2021. What was the state of Italian football when he returned from England in 2017?
“I had missed Italian football and Serie A. For Italians, this is the league. Premier League is great, but Serie A is Serie A. I think that for us Italian, there is no better league,” he says.
So, what’s the main issue for Italian football? Silvestri has a clear idea.
“Problems came in the last few years. There are fewer Italians on the pitch also due to the famous growth decree. Foreign players are less expensive and Italians are affected economically. This is crazy, it should be the other way around.”
The Growth Decree is a law approved by the Italian government three years ago which allows Italian companies, including football clubs, to get a 50% discount on the gross salaries of their employees, so also football players, moving to Italian from abroad, or returning after at least two years outside the Peninsula.
“Us Italians struggle more and it’s no coincidence there are fewer Italians on the pitch,” Silvestri goes on. “It’s a wrong system because clubs sign players from abroad, giving money to clubs outside Serie A, it’s absurd, it’s nonsense,” continues the Udinese keeper.
“They used to say Udinese had no Italian players, it’s been like that for many years, but now they are like this, full of foreign players. If you see three Italians on the pitch, it’s a miracle. This is the real problem at the moment, to me, which reflects on the national team. For the rest, I like Serie A, it’s definitely my favourite league.”
Additional reporting by Susy Campanale.