Former Chelsea and AC Milan midfielder admits he should have stayed in England

Date: 16th April 2014 at 6:55pm
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Samuele Dalla Bona ChelseaAt 33-years-old but having not played competitive football for two years former Chelsea and AC Milan midfielder Samuele Dalla Bona admitted that his career is probably over, hitting out at Italian football when reflecting on his decision to return to his homeland in 2002, insisted he should have stayed in England forever if he’d known.

After being snatched from the Atalanta youth ranks by the Londoners in 1998 the Italian went onto make 73 appearances for the club before deciding to join the Rossoneri in 2002, however, after just four games and several periods on-loan joined then Serie B side Napoli in 2006.

“What am I doing right now? Nothing,” Dalla Bona told Gazzetta dello Sport.

“Months ago I met [Vincenzo] Grella, the former Australian midfielder of Empoli and Torino and he asked me to go to Melbourne Heart, but due to personal problems I had to say no.

“Is my career already over? At some stage I think so. I am training for my UEFA B license.

“If I could go back [to England], I would stay there forever. Here football is a mess, especially the environment surrounding it – the pressures, the mentality.”

Claiming that Italian football is a ‘mess’ he suggested that players are often cast aside and branded as hopeless depending on club politics while performances of those deemed superior can often be overlooked.

“I’m not aligned with the ‘Italian culture’ and I have paid for that too,” admitted Dalla Bona. “[The phrase] Useless, is applied on the basis of convenience at clubs. It is the same with the national team.

“With the good players they will close one eye, the others it is used with an iron fist.

“The so-called bad boys in fact, the national team have not lost them, and someone will also be at the World Cup.”

Follow Kevin Pogorzelski on Twitter: @rabbitrabbiton

 

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