Simone Zaza was close to joining AC Milan as a youngster but instead chose Atalanta, his father has revealed.
The Sassuolo forward has earned all kinds of praise since scoring his first goal for Italy in Tuesday’s 2-0 Euro 2016 qualifying victory against Norway.
The player’s father, Antonio, told Calcio Mercato that his son almost joined Milan in 2008 but was convinced by Atalanta to begin his professional career there.
“He began at Stella Azzurra Bernarda, and from there, in short, I got a call to take him to Empoli,” he said. “For us it was just a game, but that adventure was a disaster.
“Simone didn’t ever integrate with the rest of the kids, I saw him sad and always on the sidelines, so we decided to move.
“We started from Pontedera to go to Milan, on the street [Atalanta scout Fermo] Favini – one of the nicest people I’ve known in football – called me and insisted that we stop first at Bergamo.
“We went into his office, Simone was at my side, we talked about half an hour, then he stood up and said ‘I want to stop and play at Atalanta’.
“And to think that he grew up watching videotapes of [AC Milan legend Marco] Van Basten.”
The 23-year-old went on to leave Atalanta for Sampdoria after making just three appearances and spent time on loan in the lower divisions before a brief co-ownership deal with Juventus where he failed to make a single appearance.
Sassuolo bought out the player’s full ownership rights this summer after an impressive first season in Serie A.
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