The Padova defender fulfilled two dreams in just a few days: “I happened to study while away. Last year I even took an exam in the morning and played a match in the evening.” And then “during a Verona-Roma match I even made Nainggolan angry”
Carlo Faedo is trying to put his emotions in order. The Padova defender had an unforgettable week: on Saturday the first – and decisive – goal in Serie B against Pescara, on Tuesday the discussion of his master’s thesis in Chemical Engineering: “Someone already calls me the defense engineer, I smile. The goal was an unexpected joy, I almost didn’t believe it. With the proclamation, however, I closed an intense journey that lasted four years between lessons, studying and exams. Now I’m really happy.” The class of ’99 immediately returned to the field to prepare for the next match against Cesena: “Together with family and friends we made a toast outside the university. I organized a small refreshment for the coach and his teammates. They were close to me and rejoiced for me. I can only thank them.”
Doctor Faedo, more excited about the goal or the graduation?
“Just call me Carlo (laughs, ed.). They are two wonderful sensations. After the goal I ran all over the pitch. You have a lot of adrenaline and for a few seconds you struggle to understand if what you are experiencing is all true. The defense of the thesis was planned, but at the moment of the proclamation I released all the tension. I was almost moved.”
How did you manage to reconcile your field commitments with your university ones?
“I happened to study while traveling, I often carried books in my backpack. Or I read notes and slides. Last year I even took an exam in the morning and played a match in the evening.”
“Excellent vote and victory, I would say not bad”.
The most complicated exam?
“Multiphase thermodynamics, the discipline that studies flows, such as liquid and vapor. There were pages and pages of demonstrations, the professor was very demanding. I saved it for the end. When I passed it I realized that I would be able to graduate.”
From Andreoletti’s engineering schemes to tactical ones, is there a concept that the coach particularly cares about?
“Team spirit. It asks us to fight at every moment, for every ball. And to sacrifice ourselves: make an extra tackle, an extra run. It’s our first year in Serie B, we have a different team than the big teams in the league. To close the gap we have to work harder than our opponents.”
He arrived at Padova from Virtus Verona in January 2024. But until three years before he played for Eccellenza.
“I did a lot of training between Promotion and Excellence, I never expected to become a professional footballer. I played for San Martino Speme and attended the University of Padua. My plan A was studying. I also have a three-year degree in Chemical and Materials Engineering. I was hoping to reach the top in Serie D. And instead…”.
As a child he played for Verona’s youth team.
“I was a midfielder, then in the yellow-blue team they moved me to defense. I was a ball boy at Bentegodi. During a Verona-Roma match I even made Nainggolan angry.”
“Verona was winning, Radja had to take a throw-in. I tried to steal a few seconds, he got annoyed and almost came face-to-face. Out of fright, I immediately threw him the ball.”
What did you think when the call from the red and white club came?
“At that time the team was fighting for promotion to Serie C. I was excited, I knew the city well thanks to my university commitments. Up until that moment I was traveling between Verona and Padua. It was the real leap in quality, so I was also able to start the internship for my thesis.”
He presented an experimental project on the sterilization process of FFP2 masks.
“In the last few months my days were divided between training, internship and study. If we had a session in the morning, I went to university in the afternoon. And vice versa. I certainly wasn’t bored. During breaks from football during the winter and summer I always prepared for exams sitting at the desk in my room.”
Do you intend to continue your studies?
“Now I want to take a break and concentrate only on Padua. The exam to enroll in the engineers’ register is a possibility. Now there is the goal of salvation to be achieved.”
Faedo, in the locker room they don’t call you a doctor.
“They nicknamed me the Divine. I’m a fan of card magic, we have fun on retreats and during away trips. If things go badly for me in football and with my job as an engineer, maybe I’ll think about it.”
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