Southampton forward Graziano Pelle has revealed that former coach Zdenek Zeman told him to stop playing football.
Pelle, who was born in Lecce and went through the youth system at his hometown club, has spoken about his first day with the senior squad with ‘Il Boemo’ in the summer of 2004
“I had a really difficult training camp with the first team at Lecce,” Pelle said in an interview with Rai Sport.
“So Zeman rang my agent and said I should quit football. He said that football was a war and that I might not be up for it.
“With Zeman things were tough, sometimes the work was excessive.”
Pelle only ever made 12 appearances for Lecce but has gone on to have a successful career.
At Feyenoord he scored 50 goals in 57 appearances and last season he helped Southampton qualify for the Europa League, scoring 16 goals in all competitions.
The forward is currently on international duty with Italy and has been capped four times for the Azzurri, with two goals to his name.
