26-year-old Italian forward Sottil: My idol is Cristiano Ronaldo and I want to be coached by my father in the future

October 11th, Ricardo Sottil, who is currently on loan to Lecce from Fiorentina, shared his feelings about his new team, family background and personal life in an interview.

Your family makes a living from football. How does your mother feel about it?

She's used to it and is happy about it. She met my father when she was 16, and we followed him throughout his career as a player and coach. When I was a child, I always asked him to take me to training, and he always satisfied me and gave me many players' jerseys. Naturally, I became passionate about that kind of life.

But to stand out, you still need strength.

When you are young, you may be regarded as a connected person. If you bear the surname of a football player, there may be prejudice. But he always told me to forget about that and move on, because in top sport, quality is the last word.

When choosing to join Lecce, which factor is more important, Corvino or Di Francesco?

Both. Pantaleo (Corvino) has known me since I was a youth player in Fiorentina and he is very important to me. Di Francesco coached me at Cagliari and he always saw great potential in me and I always got along well with him. The rest is the passion of the city Lecce. There is so much passion and love here. We have 22,000 season ticket holders, the stadiums are always packed and even for away games we have thousands of fans following us.

How is your relationship with your parent team Fiorentina?

Great, I have no issues with anyone. I owe Fiorentina a lot, I came there as a child and grew up until I reached Serie A. I stayed there for many years and knew almost everyone: it was my choice to leave on loan, I wanted a place where I could be the protagonist and where I could find the same Ricardo again. Then we’ll see in June, but now I’m focused on Lecce.

In Lecce, you reunited with Camarda, your teammate from Milan.

Camarda is a great guy, much more mature than his 17 years. He has incredible potential, which he showed during his youth days at Milan, and he has already scored goals at Lecce. He just needs to stay calm, focus on himself and not push anything. His growth path should be natural.

In Milan, the team you support, things are not going well

When you start off poorly, it becomes difficult to catch up later. But I see they have recovered now. I've loved the Rossoneri since I was a kid, when I watched Pato and Ronaldinho play, my idol was Cristiano Ronaldo, and when I was in front of him during a Juve-Fiorentina game, I almost fainted.

I heard that you are very religious?

Yes, almost everyone in our family is. Especially my grandmother, who was always with me when I was a kid.

Besides football, what other hobbies do you have?

I am a music lover, music can relax me. I love almost all types of music, but especially rap. I am a boy who really enjoys spending time with family or friends during my breaks.

Are your real friends from outside the football circle or from the football circle?

No, my most cherished friends are outside the circle. They live in Turin and I met them when I was at school. They knew Ricardo, not Sotir.

Will they come to the game?

Occasionally. During the game against Parma, a few friends were in the stands and I would like to say that they brought me good luck...

Was the goal against Parma intentional or accidental?

That is a typical situation where the ball is passed vigorously to the center, somewhere between a cross and a shot. You will see a lot of goals like this.

Do you hope to be coached by your father one day?

I already played against him in Fiorentina against Udinese and it was very exciting. But yeah, I hope to be coached by him one day, maybe towards the end of my career, that would be easier, especially given the dynamic within the locker room. I swear we won't quarrel...