Lazzari enjoying Serie A fairytale
milan — Just over three years ago, Manuel Lazzari was playing in the fourth tier of Italian football. On Sunday, the 23-year-old scored his first Serie A goal.
Lazzari netted Spal’s second goal to help his side beat Udinese 3-2 and record its first Serie A win in nearly 50 years.
It was a huge reward for Lazzari, who has battled to keep alive his footballing dreams since being released by Vicenza’s youth team aged 16.
“I even thought about quitting,” Lazzari said. “It was a very tricky period of my life.
“I owe everything to my family, I started again from Serie D, fighting against every obstacle.”
Lazzari went to fifth-division Montecchio Maggiore in 2010 and spent the following season at another amateur club, Delta Porto Tolle, before moving to Giacomense in 2012.
The midfielder was kept by Spal after its merger with Giacomense in 2013 and is the only player that has been with the club through its rise up the divisions and back into the top flight.
Lazzari, who extended his contract through 2021 in July, has grown with Spal.
“I’ve abandoned that shyness that sometimes made me hide on the pitch,” he said. “Playing in the second division gave me awareness of my skills ... and the fact that I’m stubborn and I never want to lose.”
It was the third goal Lazzari had scored for Spal, with his other two coming in 2016.
Lazzari’s fairytale is mirrored by Spal, which is back in the top flight for the first time since 1968.
The year Lazzari was born, 1993, Spal was relegated to the third division and the club went on to endure two bankruptcies and five changes of ownership. — AP