West Ham United cult hero Alessandro Diamanti has told the Italian media his only regret during his football career was leaving the Premier League side.
The 36 year old is currently playing in Australia for Western United.
Speaking to Italian football website Gianluca di Marzio, Diamanti said it was a mistake to leave West Ham, but he believes he needed to do so in order to save his international career: “I have only one regret. Leaving West Ham! It was a mistake. I think the first few months I couldn’t play the way I wanted, even though I came from a championship, in Italy, where I played at very high levels.
“The best, for me, would have been to go to the national team as a West Ham player. But in the end, I had to choose between the two.”
Asked about playing under Gianfranco Zola at West Ham, the Italian said: “If I’ve ever had a training contest with Zola? Sure! I even won! But only because I had a little more strength in my legs than he did. What a phenomenon, the coach. A living legend, an exceptional person.
“I often said to him ‘why don’t you play on Sunday too?’, he had an innate class that can’t be explained.”
Diamanti spent just one season at West Ham but he quickly became a fan favourite with his maverick style of play. The supporters made him runner up in the Hammer of the Year for the 2019/10 season, behind Scott Parker.
His decision to return to Serie A for the sake of keeping his place in the Italian national team paid off and he played his part in helping his country to the Euro 2012 final.
The former Italy international made nearly thirty Premier League appearances for the Hammers, scoring seven goals.
ND
