The Sampdoria player, Simone Leonardipublished a post on Instagram in which he described his emotion in taking the field at Marassi and scoring. The class of 2005 was in fact scoring in the match against Catanzaro, bringing the result to 3-3. Below are his words reported by sampdorianews.net:
“I started my journey in the youth sector of Sampdoria at 14 years old. Since I wore this prestigious shirt for the first time I have set myself the goal of being part of the first team.
I made my debut at Marassi at just 19 years old and I scored a goal under the Curva Sud. The emotion of seeing the whole stadium rejoice for my goal and hearing my name cheered will remain imprinted in my heart forever. My childhood dream came true. I will continue to wear this shirt, honoring its history and hoping to drive these extraordinary fans who are and will be my strength crazy with joy.
I thank the president, my teammates and all the people who have been close to me in these 6 very long years. I thank @gianlucavirzi_agenziasportivo for always having faith in that “neighborhood child” I thank all my family for all the sacrifices made. I am proud to be part of the world,” he concluded.