He joined Benfica and immediately teased his team-mates: I mocked them | OneFootball

Federico Coletta left Roma for Benfica around a year ago, in a transfer worth one million euros, and since then he has been living a new reality away from Italy. The 19-year-old Italian midfielder was born in Rome, grew up connected to the giallorossi, and does not hide his pride in his roots, but admits that the move to Portugal represented a major personal challenge.

In an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, the young talent explained how he approached leaving home at such an early stage of his career: "I have to say that life is good here. Of course, at first, it wasn’t easy. I was coming from a whole life spent at home with my family. It was my comfort zone and, when I chose to come to Portugal, I left that kind of bubble," he said.

Despite the initial difficulties, Coletta highlighted the role of the Benfica setup in helping him adapt. "After I settled in, everything became simple. In that sense, Benfica are truly a top club! They know that, in football, the decisions I make are always my own, so they adapt," he explained.

Coletta also recalled a curious episode related to his arrival at Benfica. The Italian arrived at the Luz after beating Portugal in the final of the 2024 Under-17 European Championship, and he could not resist joking with some of his new teammates.

"As soon as I arrived in Portugal, I teased the teammates I had beaten at the Under-17 Euros a little. From time to time, I still enjoy reminding them of that. They try to come up with excuses and get annoyed," he said. With a sense of humour, the midfielder added: "The food? Well, there’s not even any debate there: we win." The reference is to the final played on 5 June 2024, in which Italy beat Portugal 3-0, with one goal from Coletta and two from Francesco Camarda.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.