Some Manchester United fans may remember Johan Guadagno, who was at the Red Devils’ academy between 2017 and 2019.
The 21-year-old goalkeeper is now playing in Italy, and was today interviewed by La Casa Di C to talk about his path to Serie C’s Latina Calcio.
Asked to discuss his experience at Manchester United, he recalled the competition there was at the English club, as he was also doing his best to get any chances to play.
“It has given me a lot, both as a goalkeeper and as a man. On a human level I carry with me the conviction that you must never give up. Even when you have a small injury, you must never give up. Otherwise someone takes your place, I experienced that and it wasn’t easy. I chose to train because I didn’t feel at my best and I paid the consequences. You always have to stay on top,” said Guadagno.
The goalkeeper also recalled some stars who played with him in Manchester United’s youth ranks.
“I happened to train with the greats. When you are there with them, with players like De Gea and Romero, you think inside yourself: ‘I want to get there too’. That’s my dream. The strongest people I’ve played with? I did some training with Mason Greenwood, he was really strong. Then I played with Elanga, now at Nottingham Forest. With me in Manchester there was also James Garner, Garnacho who is now a star, Brandon Williams and many others.”
Guadagno left Manchester United in a move to FC Copenhagen in 2021. In 2022, he was bought by Pisa, who’ve been loaning him around to let him get more experience. He recently played for Fiorenzuola and is currently at Latina Calcio, where he’s been a regular starter in Serie C.
We’ll see if those appearances will get him a chance to feature in higher divisions soon, as he’s still very young and has plenty of time to build a career at top level, especially if Pisa give him a chance.
