Academy Corner: Francesco Lipari

“After so many years at this club, after so many sacrifices, it’s a great honour for me to be the captain, it’s great. I feel a huge responsibility on me, I try to set an example for my teammates, I’m the first one to laugh and joke, but also the one who pays the most attention to details so I can lead on the pitch.”

This issue we caught up with Francesco Lipari, winger and captain of Como 1907’s Primavera team about how he got started and his time with Cesc.

“I started playing football quite late, at the age of eight. It was mainly in the garden with my dad before moving on to the village team and from their Sondrio, the main team in my area before the call came from Como. And how can you say no? Playing now in Como is exciting, it’s something difficult even to explain. There is a lot of ambition and we are ambitious too, giving everything for the jersey.

Cesc taught us to be humble and to stay focused on the work, understand the demands and put them into practice as soon as possible.”

Mbappé is a role model for the young player along with other sports personalities: “Sinner (Jannik) at the moment is my favourite tennis player, but I also really like Djokovic. I love the NBA too! I support Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Milwaukee Bucks, who I also play as, on the PlayStation. I love their mentality, every player sets a good example.

“I was lucky enough to go to the USA last summer as part of the Como TST team. I came back to Italy a different player as I got to play with champions like Odenthal and Gabrielloni. But Cutrone is the player from whom I have tried, and tried to emulate the most. His attitude, his grit, his mentality are inspiring.”

And the future? “I dream of making it to the first team. But first let’s think about doing well with the Primavera.”