The former Cagliari defender finished football at 30 and now produces wine: “I struggled to walk, it was unthinkable to continue. We currently have eight labels: red, white, orange wine”
Paolo Faragò’s alarm clock rings every morning at dawn. Before the sun rises, the former Cagliari full-back is already in the countryside. The work in the vineyard begins very early: “I have 14 hectares of land. With my company I produce local wine, from Vermentino to Bovale. In recent years I have planted over 1400 trees, of which 750 are olive trees. I wake up at 4.30, get on the tractor and start the day. Now my life is divided between cultivation, pruning and harvest”. In the summer of 2023, after his last experience at Como, he chose to say enough with football. At 30, a hip problem forced him to stop: “I underwent 14 surgeries. I was constantly taking drugs and painkillers. I couldn’t even take a walk, let alone train. After each operation I spent at least a couple of months on crutches. There were no other solutions, I had to stop.”
It was the countryside that brought her smile back.
“In 2020 I purchased land a few kilometers from Cagliari, the city where my wife and I chose to live. Shortly after I opened the company dedicating myself to the production of wine. We currently have eight labels: red, white, orange wine. I am also considering expanding the business to oil and honey. Furthermore, I have already planted thousands of fruit trees: pomegranates, walnuts, almond trees, pistachios”.
In short, he keeps busy.
“At the moment, the company size is small. I deal with both the agricultural and commercial aspects. I was born in Calabria and raised in Piedmont, an area that has always been linked to wine production. Every family has a small vineyard. At 92 years old, my grandmother still enjoys harvesting.”
Why did you want to move away from football?
“I felt the need to break away from a world that I have lived in for over twenty years. There are many dynamics that I don’t appreciate. It’s an environment that makes you nomadic, you never put down roots, you’re always far from your family. I wanted to stay in Cagliari and manage my daily life independently.”
Over 230 appearances between Serie A and B, more than 20 goals as a defender. His career began at Novara.
“I had five wonderful years. I remember an incredible match against Bari in the B playoff quarter-finals, it was the 2015/2016 season. We won at San Nicola, it ended 3-4 for us with the decisive goal from Galabinov in extra time. There were ten of us playing for the red card to Dickmann, it was a crazy victory. Then the following year I arrived at Cagliari”.
He immediately became a starter in the rossoblù.
“I started playing continuously, even scoring a few goals. The problems began in May 2019. After the first injury I spent five months in rehabilitation. It seemed like everything was over. In October, Maran sent me on the pitch against Spal. I scored the decisive 2-0. Then the darkness.”
When did you realize that something was wrong with your body?
“After five games, I had difficulty even with the simplest movements. I struggled to walk, I always had to take painkillers. I started visits, but no doctor could understand what I had.”
Thus the ordeal began.
“I ended up under the knife 13 times, without solving the problem. The doctors couldn’t explain how I was able to play. Once, a surgeon said to me: ‘Do you know the story of the bumblebee? According to physics it doesn’t have the right wing structure to fly. Yet it manages to do so. Your situation is very similar’. I alternated long periods on crutches with some training.”
Until the fourteenth surgery, which was finally decisive.
“In December 2023 they implanted a hip prosthesis. From that moment on I started to feel better. But I had already decided to stop, I couldn’t take it anymore.”
He had time to win promotion to Serie A with Lecce in 2022.
“One of the best memories of my career, together with that Bari-Novara match and the goal scored against Spal immediately after the first injury”.
The Como shirt was the last shirt he wore.
“It was the season of Gattuso and Longo on the bench. I made 17 appearances, but I wasn’t able to help the team as I should have. I had another year on my contract, the club wanted to sell me. At that moment I understood that I had to stop. I was in too much pain. I realized that I was no longer the player I was before the injury.”
He worked as a midfielder, then became a full-back. The toughest opponent you’ve faced?
“I’ll name two names, which are anything but obvious. One is the former Torino player Ansaldi: he enjoyed dribbling, he was uncontainable on the wing. Tackles, slides, he got up and ran even faster. The other is Ljajic, he gave you a headache.”
As a footballer he got where he wanted. Now what is Faragò’s objective?
“Spending a peaceful life in the countryside. I would also like to create an educational farm for children. I have just planted dozens of olive trees, I hope my son can enjoy the result of this work. Between vines and orchards I have stopped suffering.”
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED