Giacomo Ratto, the globetrotting goalkeeper is in the Maldives after Mongolia, Zimbabwe and Nicaragua – Corriere.it

He has a Wikipedia page (in English, not in Italian), the “transfers” section of the transfermarkt page dedicated to him is a colored sheet of strange names and flags from all over the world and in the profile of Nilandhoo, the last team that ‘has registered, there is only one name among the players: Giacomo Ratto from Varese, 36, goalkeeper role, coming from Eydhafushi, a club close to … atoll.

We are in the Maldives, the earthly paradise that has recently renewed the contract to Checco Moriero (former Roma, Inter and Napoli winger and Lecce coach) as coach of the national team and which has hosted other Italian players (including the Vicenza-born Giacomo Favero). And Ratto is not on vacation, despite the photos on social media showing a particularly tanned skin: “I enjoy the sea in my free time” tells in an interview with the Day. He, the globetrotting goalkeeper who is a fan of Torino (“like my grandfather”) and Deportivo La Coruna, arrived in the Maldives a month ago. years of “sports pilgrimage” between Malta, Panama, Nicaragua, Fiji, Switzerland, Zimbabwe, Mongolia, Greece and Iceland. A few weeks with the shirt from Eydhafushi and the transfer to Nilandhoo with which he will participate in the FA Maldives Orth, Central & South League, the three-phase tournament that qualifies for the Premier League, the highest championship in the Indian Ocean archipelago.

«Nilandhoo was in the Premier League in 2020 and was saved – explains the goalkeeper – but they explained to me that the Federation automatically relegated the two teams of the atolls, explaining that from the following season they would have to qualify with this new format. There is a lot of politics in football here“. It is the price to pay to be able to dispose of the fatigue of training in a fairytale sea: «You don’t play on the beach, but almost. And, after training, I move ten meters and I can dive with incredible sunsets as a backdrop“.

But how do you get to play in the Maldives? «How Spanish, Brazilian and African footballers end up there every year. Through an agent working on the Asian market, I chose to sign with Club Eydhafushi. After winning Group A, the manager of my current team called my former manager to find out if a transfer was possible. Since the third round will be played in 2023 and the transfer market was open, an agreement was found between the club and then with me. The level of the championship? There are players with incredible natural talent but tactically undisciplined. It varies from team to team … ». And he doesn’t talk about money: “They pay me to play, but that’s my business.”

Certainly, however, has found the heat, after the arctic temperatures of Mongolia, in the capital Ulan Bator (first Italian to play in that league). «Nice city, quite modern – he said a few years ago – and then I like history, so I also want to visit museums. Except that I did my first workout and I got sick: bronchitis ». He shared the apartment with two Russians and a Moroccan and it took him a while to get used to it: “You have to be careful here.” Also because the temperatures dropped to -25 ° C, so much so that he had to ask to anticipate training by a few hours: “On a professional level we are light years away from other realities – he said – the Mongolian championship is similar to that of Fiji, perhaps slightly better. There was an incompetent and presumptuous coach who made us train only with the game ».

And by a whisker he didn’t play the Asian Champions League: «I had bad luck. I went to Fiji, but the club was wrong to ask for the transfer so it didn’t arrive in time and I couldn’t play. A parenthesis thrown away ». Then Nicaragua too: «I arrived with the agent who also brought me an offer from Costa Rica. In Panama I contacted the goalkeeper coach. I always try to knock on as many doors as possible, some of them open sooner or later ». And, overnight you find yourself from Central America to Africa: «It is the most beautiful continent of all. Because it changes you on a human level, it’s hard to explain: everyone smiles, even if they have nothing. It is a unique experience. Then I try to bring with me a pinch of all the football cultures and everyday life that I meet… Every place lives and interprets football in a different way. And then I bring the shirts of the teams where I played, it’s a memory that I like to have with me ».