Nesta proudly reveals rejecting Giallorossi: “My father turned down Roma. My family is deeply Lazio.” | OneFootball

Alessandro Nesta recently spoke candidly on Gianluca Gazzoli’s BSMT radio show and retraced his entire career. Among the many topics covered, some – particularly more than others – captured the attention of Lazio and Giallorossi fans alike.

In one of those, Nesta revealed that Roma have always been a lifelong rival dating back to when he was a child. While everyone in his family’s apartment building were I Lupi followers, the Nestas were the only Lazio fans.

The former Lazio captain told an interesting anecdote about choosing the Biancocelesti over their Giallorossi cousins: “My father turned down Roma, we’re proud of that. My family is deeply Lazio.”

He then added, “I played for Cinecittà when I was seven or eight years old, and it was affiliated with Roma, but my dad read in the Corriere dello Sport that there were Lazio tryouts. My dad said I shouldn’t go to Roma and that I should try out with Lazio.”

From then on, a beautiful partnership began. In another notable section, when the conversation turned to Sven Goran Eriksson, Nesta was visibly moved. He had seen him a few months before his death, when Nesta was coaching Reggiana against Sampdoria. They spoke, and Alessandro burst into tears.

He clearly still has wonderful memories of his former coach and revealed a little behind-the-scenes story about those moments at Lazio where the Swede saw leadership potential in him before Nesta himself. “Eriksson gave me the captain’s armband, but I wasn’t ready. Five or six years later, I would have been more ready.”

To many Nesta was arguably a better player than Paolo Maldini and it shows that the ex-Azzurri star has made a massive impact on the game.

GIFN | Max Bradfield