For someone who has spent his 23-year professional career firmly in the spotlight, Alessandro Diamanti is taking a surprisingly low-key approach to the end of his playing days.
The extroverted Italian has attracted attention wherever he’s gone, across various decades and countries: be it West Ham, Bologna, Guangzhou Evergrande or Western United.
With champions Western preparing to kick-off their title defence with a Grand Final rematch against premiers Melbourne City at AAMI Park on Friday night, Diamanti casually indicated the curtain is about to fall on his stellar career.
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“At the present, it will be my last season of football,” the 39-year-old said.
“I want to enjoy every moment, I want to finish on the pitch, I want to celebrate my career with some good matches.”
When pressed, Diamanti couldn’t help but laugh.
“Now is the time for my son – I think,” he said.
“I always say ‘I think’, because in football, we never know.”
The 2019-20 Johnny Warren Medallist could easily have called it quits already.
A debilitating knee injury ended Diamanti’s 2021-22 season early, ruling him out of Western’s run to a sensational first Championship.
He supported Western all the way, while he lifted the trophy with stand-in skipper Josh Risdon.
“Of course it was hard because I have played almost 600 games and I played every year in every team, 90 minutes every game,” Diamanti said.
“So it’s hard, with how passionate I am about football, I love my team.
“I’m very happy because we won but it’s not the same feeling as when you are inside the pitch (sic).”
When the celebrations were done and dusted, Diamanti and his family returned to Italy for close to two months, for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I needed it for my soul,” he said.
“To go back, I needed it mentally because the last two months of last season I struggled with my knee.
“It was the first time I’d had a big injury in my career. It was tough, so I needed to go back.
“(It was) amazing because I saw after three years my parents, my friends, my home, my everything, the food. So everything I was used.
“But I didn’t do a lot of holiday because I was stuck in Bologna in the clinic to work on the problem with my knee.”
A “very, very motivated” Diamanti couldn’t confirm whether he would be able to feature in Friday’s season opener.
Instead, he’s focused on making a strong return.
“I want to be ready to go back and stay back,” he said.
