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EducationRe: How Do I Change The Email Address I Supplied To Jamb? by TeeGentle(m): 11:26am On Sep 13, 2021
Go to their website and report your problem
CelebritiesRe: Cristiano Ronaldo Crowned Man Of The Match Against Newcastle (Photos) by TeeGentle(m): 9:23pm On Sep 12, 2021
More deserved CR7
The no. 1 G.O.A.T
The second G.O.A.T wey dey farmers league never score anything this season
Bleep man-u and cr7 haters
Bleep chelsea fans
Foreign AffairsRe: 70 Women Marry Dozens Of Trees In Bristol In Bid To Prevent Them Being Felled by TeeGentle(m): 10:49am On Sep 09, 2021
see as they ugly
they are not even beautiful
maybe all those niggas don reject them
foolish oyinbo people
Jobs/VacanciesRe: Is Graphic Designing A Good Side Hustle? by TeeGentle(m): 10:45am On Sep 09, 2021
good
BusinessRe: 4 Tips To Use When A Customer Is Wrong by TeeGentle(m): 10:41am On Sep 09, 2021
good writeup op
CrimeRe: Forced Marriage: Rumasau Muhammed Allegedly Stabs Husband To Death In Adamawa by TeeGentle(m): 6:54pm On Sep 08, 2021
FINALLY FINALLY AND FINALLY
DOES OF YOU DOING FORCE MARRIAGE U NA DON SEE D CONSEQUENCE
FashionRe: Igbo Girl Crowned Miss Ireland by TeeGentle(m): 6:53pm On Sep 08, 2021
WHERE IS ARE PICS
SHOW US THE PROOF
SportsRe: Victor Osimhen's Two Game Ban Lifted by TeeGentle(m): 6:51pm On Sep 08, 2021
vILLAGE DON FINALLY GO AWAY FROM IS BACK
FamilyRe: Bride Angrily Pushes Her Groom As He Tries Kissing Her During Their Wedding by TeeGentle(m): 6:50pm On Sep 08, 2021
FORCE MARRIAGE
CelebritiesRe: Money Rains At Eniola Badmus Birthday Party by TeeGentle(m): 6:37pm On Sep 08, 2021
SEE MONEY
SportsFrancesco Flachi: Former Sampdoria Captain Set To Return To Football After 12-ye by TeeGentle(op): 6:30pm On Sep 08, 2021
Francesco Flachi: Former Sampdoria captain set to return to football after 12-year drugs ban

By Daniele Verri
Italian football journalist
Last updated on 2 hours ago2 hours ago.
From the section Football
Francesco Flachi celebrates scoring for Sampdoria
Francesco Flachi scored 110 goals in 280 appearances for Sampdoria
In early 2007 Francesco Flachi was well on his way to becoming a club legend with Serie A side Sampdoria. Captain, scorer of more than 100 goals and called up by Italy for the first time.

But his life changed in the hours after a game against Inter Milan, on 28 January 2007, when he tested positive for cocaine.

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He was immediately suspended from any football activity and eventually banned for two years.

"I lost it all in that exact moment," Flachi tells BBC Sport. "I was an idol in Genoa. I had started the year with two goals and I had recently been called up by the national team too."


But in some ways that was just the beginning. Two years later his whole career was over. Or so it seemed.

Stain on his reputation

Flachi was no stranger to controversy.

A year earlier, in 2006, based on telephone tappings of third parties, Flachi was accused of attempted match fixing and suspended for two months. "I had nothing to do with it," he says. "I never accepted that ban."

He had overcome that stain on his reputation and was busy cementing his place as one of the most gifted Italian number 10s of his generation. Flachi's 110 goals for Sampdoria put him third on the club's all-time scoring list, behind only Roberto Mancini and Gianluca Vialli.

His tally would almost certainly have been higher had he not failed that drugs test in 2007.

After the enforced two-year absence, Flachi was offered a shot at redemption with Serie B sides Brescia and Empoli. But the events of the previous years had taken their toll. "Mentally I wasn't the same person any more and I couldn't avoid falling back into it," he reflects.

And so in December 2009, Flachi tested positive for cocaine again. He was a repeat offender and given a 12-year ban, ending his top-level career.

It seemed certain he would not play again. But now, 12 years on, Flachi is preparing for an unlikely comeback.

'I want to pass on what I have thrown away'

While he could not play, Flachi unofficially coached local team Bagno a Ripoli, winning league and cup titles. He has also coached Signa 1914's youth sides and, since the pandemic outbreak, gives individual lessons on footballing technique to 50 children.

It is at fifth-tier Signa 1914 where he will make his return as a player, aged 46, when his ban ends in January, having been teased by his friend - and the club's president - Andrea Ballerini.
"I am very excited because the date is approaching," Flachi says. "It all started as a joke, but then we got more serious about it. I was already helping out at Signa 1914, lending a hand in the youth sector.

"Andrea started to provoke me: 'You can't play any more, you're too old'. I hadn't entered a proper 11-a-side football pitch for 12 years, but I am a man of football and I live for the emotions, which I had missed so much.

"I am training now and the sensations are similar to those I felt as a real player. Exposure and pressure are different, but some football dynamics, like life in the dressing room, are the same at all levels.

"I know I made a mistake and I got punished for it. I also know I am not as fast as I used to be, but I can do my part and help these guys believe in themselves. I also want them to understand how beautiful football is. They can't afford to lose what I threw away."

'At first, watching football would make me sick'

Francesco Flachi
Flachi is mostly associated with Sampdoria, but won Serie B and the Coppa Italia with Fiorentina before moving to Genoa
The return to training and the prospect of playing again has been a chance for Flachi to reflect on the choices he made - and how his journey has unfolded.

"After such a disgrace you think of everything," he adds. "Of a career thrown in the bin, your public image, the pain you caused your family. People didn't react well at first, but with time I proved I understood my mistakes and could rebuild most relations.

"At first, watching football would make me sick, but then I rolled up my sleeves and slowly moved on again. I have opened two restaurants in Florence and I spent my time serving food. Since it's been known I am going to play I have been receiving so many calls and messages. This proves a lot of people still love me.

"I am not a victim - I made a mistake and I don't want others to go down the same path. I receive a lot of positive feedback from my coaching and this is an important proof that my dedication is appreciated and parents trust me.

"It's too easy to judge from the outside. Those who know me also know the way I am. I am the same person I was 20, 30 years ago, with my values.

"I know one can make mistakes and fall, but one can also get back to his feet. Life is full of unexpected events. What I want is to do my part and show I can play a role in football."

SportsRe: FIFA Bans Eight Players From Man Utd, Chelsea, Others From Weekend Matches by TeeGentle(m): 6:14pm On Sep 08, 2021
MAN U OWN STILL BETTER THANK GOD
GGMU
SportsRe: Nigeria Vs Cape Verde: 2022 World Cup Qualifier: (2 - 1) On Sept 7 2021 by TeeGentle(m): 5:31pm On Sep 07, 2021
grin
FamilyRe: ‘My Boyfriend Pays The Rent For Our House But He Doesn’t Know I’m The Landlord’ by TeeGentle(m): 5:20pm On Sep 07, 2021
WOMEN ARE WICKED
SportsRe: Why Ronaldo May Not Start For Man United Against Newcastle On Saturday by TeeGentle(m): 5:18pm On Sep 07, 2021
RUUUUUUUUUMORS
Car TalkRe: Mercedes Vision AVTR: Car Controlled By Reading Driver's Mind by TeeGentle(m): 5:00pm On Sep 07, 2021
ogbiwa:
https://www.dailystar.co.uk/tech/news/mercedes-new-car-reads-drivers-24922543
everyday technology

Abi dis people dey use witchcraft ni
RomanceRe: Moriah Mills: I Don't Have Female Friends Because Their Partners Always Want Me by TeeGentle(m): 4:46pm On Sep 07, 2021
story
SportsRe: Real Reason Cristiano Ronaldo Left Juventus Revealed by TeeGentle(m): 4:44pm On Sep 07, 2021
na soooo
italy is boring
SportsRe: Jean-Pierre Adams Dies After Being In Coma For 39 Years by TeeGentle(m): 5:27pm On Sep 06, 2021
the doctor did a big mistake
a simple mistake can cost someones life
RIP
RomanceRe: Zimbabwe Headmaster Stabbed, Robbed Of School Vehicle, Cash During Bush Sex Romp by TeeGentle(m): 5:23pm On Sep 06, 2021
Islie:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/iharare.com/headmaster-stabbed-and-robbed-of-school-vehicle-cash-during-bush-sex-romp/amp/
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
see headmaster life
i wonder wat he would be doing with is student
SportsRe: 7 Is The Number - Ronaldo Celebrates Man United Jersey In New Picture by TeeGentle(m): 5:14pm On Sep 06, 2021
bolaayenimo:
I hope he won't regret this decision of joining Man Utd. Arsenal would have been the best club for him
Bros u dey play with fire
CrimeRe: Stray Bullet Kills 9-Year-Old Girl On Her Way To Islamic School In Kaduna by TeeGentle(m): 5:10pm On Sep 06, 2021
please God save us from this evil people shocked shocked
Foreign AffairsRe: 6 Palestinian Militants Escape From High-security Israeli Prison. Hamas Mocks by TeeGentle(m): 5:09pm On Sep 06, 2021
inside this small hole
God no go shame us shocked shocked shocked shocked shocked shocked shocked shocked shocked
SportsRe: Edinson Cavani: I Am Sad And Upset Over Man Utd’s Decision by TeeGentle(m): 3:16pm On Sep 04, 2021
dont be angry focus on the next match
SportsRe: Edinson Cavani: I Am Sad And Upset Over Man Utd’s Decision by TeeGentle(m): 3:15pm On Sep 04, 2021
we are sorry
don't be angry
SportsRe: Cristiano Ronaldo Eyes Premier League Trophy, Charges Teammates by TeeGentle(m): 3:13pm On Sep 04, 2021
BEST OF LUCK CR7
SportsRe: Agbonlahor: Harry Kane Is Better Than Cristiano Ronaldo by TeeGentle(m): 3:07pm On Sep 04, 2021
KANE THAT DID NOT AV ONE TROPHY U AR SAYING IS BETTER THAN RONALDO
TALKLESS OF GOALS
Nairaland GeneralRe: What Can Calm You Down When You Are Angry?? by TeeGentle(m): 3:00pm On Sep 04, 2021
NOBODY
I CALM MYSELF DOWN
PoliticsRe: Gunmen Break Into Abuja Home, Kidnap Father And Son by TeeGentle(m): 6:13pm On Sep 03, 2021
God please help us from evil people
IslamRe: Criteria Of The Right Role Model In The Light Of Islam by TeeGentle(m): 3:07pm On Sep 03, 2021
Masha Allah
IslamRe: Story: The Reward For Abstaining From Harām by TeeGentle(m): 2:47pm On Sep 03, 2021
jazakhumullahu khairan
CrimeRe: Woman Busted After Making Her Son Pose As A Cripple In A Wheelchair To Beg by TeeGentle(m): 11:28am On Sep 03, 2021
some people are lazy
they cannot even work on their own
always depending on others

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