Diamanti retires: “I haven’t been a 100-trophy footballer, but I felt loved” – Football

“After 23 years, Saturday will be my last game,” reads the letter Alexander Diamonds, left-handed attacking midfielder born in 1983, has published on social media. During his career, “Alino” – the nickname given to him by the fans of his hometown team, Prato – best expressed his technical qualities on the frontline, showing great ability in set pieces (more than once he scored directly from a corner. “I haven’t been a 100 trophies player, but I have felt loved, by my loved ones and by all the thousands of people who have followed me for more than twenty years. Now I’m ready to face new challenges with the same values ​​and the same certainties that have accompanied me from the first moment I took the ball in hand,” he added.

Diamonds, the globetrotting career

Alino ends his career at Western United, the Australian team in which he played since 2019, with which he also won a championship. He will play his last match against Perth Glory on Saturday. The first kicks to the ball at Saint Lucia – the same in which they began Paolo Rossi And Bobo Vieri –then as a professional he passes to Lawnhis favorite team. The leap in quality comes with the Leghornwhere he scored 24 goals and 13 assists in two seasons between Serie A and B. Diamonds also play in Premier League: in the 2009/2010 season for the West Ham trained by Zola. Following the return to Italy, first al Bresciathen to Bologna, where he lives one of the best moments, signing 22 goals and 24 assists in 88 total appearances. After he flies to China, al Guangzhou trained by Marcello Lippi, with which he won the Chinese championship. Then back to Italy, at Florentineto the Palermoto the Perugia and al Leghorn. Finally the Australian experience. The Tuscan playmaker ended his career with 579 total appearances and 123 goals scored.

In National Diamanti lived one of the most magical moments of his career. The first summons came in 2010: he was called by the coach Cesare Prandelliwho chooses to take it to the Euro 2012. On penalties in the quarter-final againstEngland, who replaced Cassano, scored the decisive goal from the penalty spot for the next round. As a substitute he also took part in the semi-final victory against Germany (2-1). The journey of the Azzurri that year stopped right in the final, where Italy lost 4-0 against Spain.

Diamonds, the grandfather discovered Paolo Rossi and Bobo Vieri

Alino’s grandfather Roberto Becheri, was the owner of a textile factory in Prato. In an interview he revealed: “The mother of Paolo Rossi he worked in my company, Pablito got his first kicks with me, before going to Cattolica Virtus. The night he scored three goals against Brazil I was so happy I had a heart attack. As for Bobohere was his grandfather, a goalkeeper coach, and he was talking to me about this nephew who lived in Australia: I paid for his plane ticket to Italy”.