Marcello Trotta might be a name Chelsea fans remember from the 2013-14 season, when a certain Rafa Benitez was in charge of their beloved club.
This was a time when Marko Marin, Juan Mata, Demba Ba or even Ross Turnbull still played for the club, and the London side were facing Brentford in the FA Cup.
What should have been a relatively easy game turned into an unnecessarily difficult affair as a late Fernando Torres goal rescued his side to draw 2-2 and forcing a replay (which they later won 4-0).
Trotta, who was then on loan at Brentford from Fulham, opened the scoring in the 43rd minute, and the striker, now at Crotone in Serie A, remembers it very fondly speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport.
Receiving personal praise from John Terry and Gary Cahill after the game, Trotta also explained that Italian defenders aren’t as nice after the player helped his new side pick up their first ever Serie A point at the weekend against Palermo.
He said: “No, not at all. They were very angry because they were losing. That goal at Chelsea, however, remains one of my favourite memories.”
Leaving Italy as a 16-year-old to join Manchester City’s academy in 2008, the 23-year-old spent a further seven years in England, transferring to Fulham before spending time on loan at Wycombe, Watford, the aforementioned Brentford and Barnsley.
On adapting to a new country, he said: “I had to grow and mature. It was very hard, but then find a fantastic country and a completely different world. London is a city that’s many years ahead of any Italian one. It makes you become a man quickly.”
With one point from their first five games, Crotone might find it hard to stay up, but it seems Trotta is prepared for this.
After all, not everyone can pull a Leicester.
