Chiumiento and Costanzo Why the former child prodigies are now children's coaches

Davide Chiumiento was considered a talent of the century, Moreno Costanzo was also a highly gifted player. Now they run a football school. They talk to blue Sport about childhood dreams, empty promises, wrong decisions and their careers.

Davide Chiumiento, how did you come up with the idea of your own football school?

Chiumiento: After my career, I lived in Canada for a few years. I had to reinvent myself there and see what I liked. That wasn't easy. That's when I started coaching children and immediately realized that this was my passion. When I came back to Switzerland three years ago, it was clear that I wanted to do the same here.

And when you needed support, you looked for another technically strong "No. 10" from eastern Switzerland and came across Moreno?

Chiumiento: No (smiles). We have a mutual friend who I've known for a long time. He also knows Moreno very well. That's how we met.

Costanzo: I thought it was a cool idea, and then I saw how Davide works.

There are many big clubs with academies and bases. Why do you need your football school?

Costanzo: We train children from the age of 6. I think we can say that we are almost the only ones in Switzerland to offer training for kids at this level. It also helps that we can demonstrate all the exercises, as we have the technical skills to do so.

Does your school compete with the academies?

Costanzo: We don't see ourselves as competition and don't want to be. We think that the quality of training is very important, especially for the youngest players. This is certainly lacking at the academies, but that is not meant as a reproach. We don't have the feeling that we invented football and we don't want it to come across that way.

At the moment, the academies are promoting tall, athletic children, preferably left-footed ones. Davide, you were a little super-technician. Would you still have a chance today?

Chiumiento: Football has changed. But the most important things at this age are still the basics: juggling, controlling the ball on the right and left, a clean pass and then finishing. I miss the street football of the past, which is what we want to offer in our hall. The most important thing is that the ball becomes your friend. We've noticed that much more is possible with the youngest players. You can see that we are still lagging behind compared to other countries.

You are two big names in Swiss football. Are you playing with the children's dreams? Along the lines of: If you join Costanzo and Chiumiento, you're more likely to become a professional ...

Costanzo: ... No, we certainly don't make promises like that, that you'll turn pro faster with us and thanks to our network of contacts.

Many ex-professionals now offer football camps.

Costanzo: We don't offer camps during the vacations. We are on the pitch every day. That's what makes us special and something completely different.

You don't play in a championship. How do you compete with other teams?

Chiumiento: We still have contacts from the past. Also in Italy, Spain and Germany. From time to time we get the feeling that the boys have worked well and are well prepared. Then we go abroad for two or three days and play in a tournament. It's always a reality check for the kids. In Switzerland, it's easy to be better or perhaps further ahead than other children. But when you go abroad, it's a different story. We've already had the chance to play against Juve, Milan or Inter.

Every child probably dreams of becoming a professional. You know that from your own experiences. Is it worth striving to be a professional footballer?

Chiumiento: Sure, the kids dream. But I have the feeling that we used to love football much more than they do today. In the past, you just wanted to play because you loved football. Today I have the feeling that kids love the idea of being a footballer more. For many other reasons too.

Davide, you went to Juventus in Italy when you were 15. Would you recommend this to your son or would you advise him against it?

Chiumiento: I would send him there when he was twelve. (Laughs). Seriously, it's a great life experience, I would at least do it again.

Do your feet still itch when you're in a stadium?

Costanzo: That itch when you're in a stadium will probably never go away. You want to experience the feelings, the emotions you had as a footballer on the pitch again and again. But at some point, everyone's done.

Your careers are over. Do you regret that you didn't make the most of your abilities?

Chiumiento: To be honest, I do regret it sometimes. I've made a lot of mistakes myself. There were a few situations in which I felt that I wasn't mentally at the level where I could play at the very top. In hindsight, I realize that I took a lot of things too personally.

Did you also feel misunderstood by the coaches?

Chiumiento: I often thought about that. I was lucky that I had very good coaches at the FC St.Gallen juniors. After that, I was less lucky. For the most part, I lacked coaches who also gave me certain freedoms or those who could make me better. Some could have done a better job, especially on a personal level. But I know that I was often the problem myself.

You were substituted for Alessandro Del Piero in the Champions League as a 19-year-old, were you considered his successor? That was your only appearance in the top flight with Juve.

Chiumiento: I'll let others judge whether it wasn't quite enough mentally or in terms of footballing ability. But something was certainly missing. That's how it is.

So you're not completely satisfied with your career?

Chiumiento: There were certainly many decisions that were difficult. Also the thing with the Swiss national team. But at least Quillo (Tranquillo Barnetta) was super happy when he was able to play in the 2004 European Championship. And I was on vacation at home at the time. When I think back, it's actually quite crazy. But I'm pleased that someone else was able to benefit from this situation and went on to have a great career.

Chiumiento, an Italian-Swiss dual citizen, doesn't want to decide for or against Switzerland at the beginning of the noughties. He still dreams of playing for the "Azzurri". That's why the Juve loanee has also twice turned down senior coach Köbi Kuhn. U21 national team coach Challandes said at the time: "I will visit Davide in Italy again soon. Köbi and I accept the situation, but we're certainly not giving up." In 2010, Chiumiento made his debut under Ottmar Hitzfeld in a 3-1 defeat against Uruguay. It remained his only international match.

Moreno, unlike Davide, you stayed in Switzerland for your entire career.

Costanzo: Exactly. I don't want to compare myself to Davide. Everyone goes their own way.

Do you also regret certain decisions?

Costanzo: There are sunny and dark sides in every profession and you're always wiser with hindsight. I also made two or three decisions that I would have made differently in retrospect. But despite everything, I think we both had a good career and were able to experience a few professional games. That's very special.

Because so many talented players fail on their way to the top?

Costanzo: Yes, there are so many dreams that shatter. We know these figures. The number of those who don't make it is very high. We have made it. Even if not all of the decisions we made were right, most of them are. That's why I think we can be proud. Now we hope that many young footballers will come out here in Eastern Switzerland over the next ten years and that one or two of them will be able to go one better than we did.