Former youth international and
Manchester City target has high hopes of an FA Cup upset after falling back in love with football
![Buxton’s Diego De Girolamo: ‘Playing for Italy was an unbelievable feeling’](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/27eba84e0ba873bd0d8fc518f62be1f3d5badaf2/0_373_2500_1499/master/2500.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctZGVmYXVsdC5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=b5a37999055d4b440e6c7f8ba5a8f896)
“I was handed the phone and Roberto Mancini was on the other end – he said: ‘How would you feel about coming to Man City?’” recalls Diego De Girolamo. The striker had just made his Sheffield United debut aged 17, played for
Italy Under-18s in a tournament in
Russia and had had offers from clubs around Europe.
The big move never materialised for De Girolamo, who will lead the line for seventh-tier Buxton – the lowest-ranked team in the FA Cup second round – at home to Morecambe of League One on Saturday. The journey from calling a European Championship winner a teammate to the Northern
Premier League has been relatively quick for the 26-year-old after an anterior cruciate injury and falling out of love with the game.