Just one week ago, Pio Esposito played and scored at his home ground, wearing a different shirt. The same could happen on Tuesday, because Pio will be playing again in the place that he calls home, with a different shirt. The days are filled with strong emotions for the Under 21 and Spezia forward, who came on as a sub in the friendly against France and who is preparing himself for the second test of this window in November, scheduled for Tuesday against Ukraine at the stadio ‘Alberto Picco’ at 18:15 live on Rai 2. “The match against France was difficult, against a physically and technically strong side - Esposito underlines speaking to figc.it from the camp at Tirrenia-. But we played openly, showing that we are of a high quality’. The same was achieved by the third Esposito brother who has scored six goals in Serie B in the start to this season, already double the number of goals he scored last year, scoring four in the 7-0 win in San Marino. “It would’ve been difficult to start: it’s a brilliant time at the moment, but I can't stop working everyday”.

Strong emotions, he said. Because other than what we have seen on the pitch wearing the shirt of Spezia and Italy, on Monday n his very own Castellammare di Stabia (in the Cicerone neighbourhood) Salvatore and Sebastiano inaugurated the new playing field which was restructured by the Esposito brothers, exactly where the boys grew up. Pio wasn’t present as he was away with the Under 21 side, but it's as if he was there. “I was on a video call with my cousin - he says -, therefore I didn’t miss a moment from the day. At times, I couldn’t hold back the tears: it was very emotional even from a distance. Seeing all of the people in the neighbourhood, my family members, all together on our playing field, the one that has seen us grow up. We wanted to send the message that you shouldn’t forget where you’ve come from, your roots have given you everything. We learnt a lot growing up in that playing-field: the values of sport and of life, team spirit, friendship, togetherness and respect for your elders. There were no rules on the playing-field, whoever turned up would play. And those that didn’t play would wait their turn”. 

Pio, the youngest of the Esposito brothers, waited, but made things work when it was his time: “Playing with older kids at the playing field taught me a lot, forced me to work twice as hard as the others, and this pattern has repeated itself throughout the years. From Inter Primavera, to the Under 20 World Cup, Under 19 Euro’s, and now with the Under 21 and in Serie B. But I have always had a lot of respect for those who are bigger than me”. Sebastiano and Salvatore included: “I spent the weekend watching their matches and they inspired me. Having two professional footballers like them so close to me allows me to ask them for advice, especially when things are not going well. Because when things are going well, there’s not much to say or adjust”. 

Last Sunday was a surreal one: Spezia, third in Serie B, won 3-0 at Castellammare. First goal from Pio Esposito, second from Salvatore Esposito. “Scoring there felt really strange - he admits -. For a second, when the ball went in, I struggled to understand what was happening. Inside, I was happy, but I felt the atmosphere in the stadium. It was a bit like I had hurt myself, because I was someone who used to go and watch Juve Stabia matches and cried when they lost. It was the first time for me at the ‘Menti’: Salvatore played us, but behind closed doors. We were really happy that the people of Castellammare welcomed us like this: they understood that everyone on the pitch was a professional and gave their all for the shirt that they are wearing, the Spezia one”. 

It is a Spezia side that is producing different young talents for the National Teams: not just Esposito, but also Bertola in the Under 21 and Candelari in the Under 20 side. “I am really happy for Nicolò who has joined me in the Under 21 team and for Pietro who has managed to get a place in the Under 20 team. He has great potential. Things are going well at La Spezia, therefore it’s easier to express yourself, be it as an individual or as a team. We struggled last year, but have started well this year”

Before returning to host Spezia, the Picco is preparing to welcome the Under 21 side. “It will be a strange feeling, but quite nice, also because La Spezia is the city of a lot of my first experiences, first matches as a professional, first goals as a professional and the city where I went to live alone for the first time. As speaking of first times, it will be the first match with the arch mounted above the Curva Ferrovia: “We can’t wait to get back to playing in front of fans in the curva”, Esposito explains, who virtually opens the doors of his family home, in Brescia. In this home, there is an infinite collection of shirt and balls, Pio has brought his shirt from Italy vs. San Marino, the match in which he scored four goals. “We lost count of the number of shirts that there are - he jokes -. Now there’s three of us contributing. The one I like the most? One from Morata, taken by Seba, who was able to bring back loads during his year in Serie A. Perhaps soon he will take Pio’s shirt… 

BALDANZI The Roma midfielder Tommaso Baldanzi is unavailable for the match against Ukraine, he has returned to the Capital. 

SQUAD LIST 

Goalkeepers: Sebastiano Desplanches (Palermo), Jacopo Sassi (Modena), Gioele Zacchi (Latina);
Defenders: Nicolò Bertola (Spezia), Giovanni Bonfanti (Pisa), Diego Coppola (Hellas Verona), Daniele Ghilardi (Hellas Verona), Gabriele Guarino (Carrarese), Michael Olabode Kayode (Fiorentina), Marco Palestra (Atalanta), Lorenzo Pirola (Olympiacos), Matteo Ruggeri (Atalanta), Riccardo Turicchia (Catanzaro), Mattia Zanotti (Lugano);
Midfielders: Cesare Casadei (Chelsea), Giovanni Fabbian (Bologna), Fabio Miretti (Genoa), Cher Ndour (Besiktas), Matteo Prati (Cagliari);
Forwards: Giuseppe Ambrosino (Frosinone), Francesco Pio Esposito (Spezia), Wilfried Gnonto (Leeds), Simone Pafundi (Losanna), Cristian Volpato (Sassuolo)