“With Football, I Overcame Life’s NOs”
Hospitals are one of the most peculiar kinds of non-places.
Spaces where time stands still, where life pauses in its rush, and where the only word that truly matters — almost like an imperative — is Care.
Whether temporary, linked to an acute condition, or a regular appointment to keep a chronic illness under control — like Lorenzo’s.
Indeed, Lorenzo has lived with hospitals for as long as he can remember, like pit stops in a race — routine in their repetition. Lorenzo, midfielder for Juventus One, team C1, lives with thalassemia and needs regular, precisely timed blood transfusions.
“Thalassemia is something you don’t see from the outside,” he says — and he’s absolutely right.
He doesn’t use a wheelchair, has no cognitive issues, and appears physically strong and perfectly healthy. Yet something inside him makes itself felt at regular intervals — fatigue, and sometimes pain throughout his body. Not to mention the long-term effects and the risks of underestimating even the smallest symptom.
Thalassemia is, after all, a condition where the body struggles to correctly produce hemoglobin — red blood cells, to put it simply.
“The diagnosis came early — I was 18 months old. They discovered it after a persistent fever that wouldn’t go away. My family learned what was happening, and from there, my journey began. It took me years to accept that I would have to live with this condition. Then one day, something just switched in me.”
The “switch” Lorenzo talks about was a radical one. At 18, he left Pizzo Calabro — the town where he was born, raised, and where his whole family still lives — and, as they say, “moved up north.”
Destination: Turin.
“I had a few options on the table, but my grandfather convinced me to choose Turin — because I had some relatives here, and above all, because there’s Juve.”
Lorenzo is black and white by blood — raised on bread, Baggio, and above all, Del Piero. And when he arrived in the city, his life literally changed.
“I had a few tough years, also because I had developed a sort of immunity that made the transfusions less effective. But eventually, things improved. I continued my studies, got back into football, and — most importantly — broadened my horizons. Through my treatment and life in the city, I saw not only how many people shared my condition, but I also met others with severe disabilities. That’s when I told myself: ‘Lorenzo, you’re lucky. You can live your life normally.’”
And it has indeed been — and still is — a full life: university studies, a degree, work, social engagement (he was until recently the President of the Thalassemia Association of Piedmont), artistic and theatrical passions, and a wedding on the horizon.
And, of course, football. Juve. Always coming back.
“While living in Pinerolo, I discovered the world of Pinerolo FD, which later became Juventus for Special and then Juventus One. It’s something I’ve experienced and still experience completely — on the field and by helping out off it.”
When people say “don’t call it just football,” Lorenzo shows us what that means:
“Playing for Juventus is the realization of a dream — mine and my family’s. It’s a huge source of pride and also a way to overcome the ‘NOs’ that life has always tried to put in front of me. I still remember the emotion of that first training session, the locker room, the feeling of being a real player. These are things that stay with you.”
If he had to define what Juventus means?
“Belonging. And, above all, overcoming limits.”
Lorenzo smiles constantly. He tells us his story as his transfusion is underway — and his life is just like his smile: full, bright, complete. The reason is simple, and deeply moving.
“I celebrate my birthday every day.”
