'I wasn't happy in myself' - How Spezia ace Maggiore went from Milan misery to Serie A's youngest captain

Giulio Maggiore is a popular player with Fantasy Football managers in Italy.

"They write to me sometimes on social media to thank me for getting good ratings and points," he reveals in an exclusive interview with GOAL. "It's nice. Luckily, I don't get many insults!"

That is hardly surprising: Maggiore is low-cost but high quality, a constant in Spezia's starting line-up and, thus, a reliable source of points.

However, it's not just Fantasy Football players who appreciate the 24-year-old's consistency; Maggiore is a manager's dream in real life.

Indeed, there is a reason why he is the youngest captain in Serie A. He oozes class and composure on the field, but he is just as impressive off it.

He is warm, engaging and speaks with a maturity that belies his age. You get the impression that he has always been like this, too.

He has certainly never shied away from making big calls.

A Spezia native, he was picked up by his hometown club as a kid, but moved to AC Milan at the age of 14.

Maggiore knew it was an incredible opportunity to make a significant step towards realising his dream of becoming a professional footballer.

But there was one problem: he was not happy. Injury issues certainly did not help, but there was more to it than that.

"It was a situation that was bigger than me," he admits. "I wasn't happy in myself.

"Thinking about it now, I can say that I just wasn't able to get myself right and maybe the injuries were a result of the fact that, mentally, I wasn't focused.

"I think it was all a consequence of the fact that I wasn't well. I wasn't thinking about football.

"So, after two months, I returned home and I went straight back to Spezia."

And he has been there ever since.

Maggiore signed his first professional contract in April 2016 and made his professional debut that September, in a Serie B clash with Trapani, at the age of 18.

By the end of the season, he had become a first-team regular and received a call-up for the Under-20 World Cup in South Korea.

Again, though, Maggiore felt compelled to make a big call; to do right by himself.

He had already missed a lot of school because he was playing second-division football and he did not want to jeopardise his hopes of graduating, so he turned down the chance to represent his country at a major international tournament.

"They told me two months before that I was going to get a call-up for the Under-20s and they said to me, 'How are you fixed?'" he explains.

"I'd been studying for five years and my school had been very good to me because I was playing in Serie B and was absent a lot, so I decided not to go to the World Cup and instead do my esame di maturita' (high school diploma).

"It was sad for me to have to do that. But the national team left me free to choose and they were very kind and understanding.

"I was a year younger than all of the other players and I was thinking of doing what was right for me. I think it was the right decision because I was able to finish my studies."

Doing so certainly did not hinder his development; if anything, it helped.

Maggiore continued to grow, both as a player and a person, and when the time came for Spezia to pick a new captain following Claudio Terzi's departure in the summer of 2021, the versatile midfielder was the obvious and popular choice.

Indeed, by that point, he had already made over 100 appearances for the club and played a pivotal role in their historic promotion to Serie A in August 2020.

Maggiore, a versatile midfielder whose preferred position is on the left-hand side, had also shown that he belonged at the highest level of Italian football, excelling in a side expertly coached by Vincenzo Italiano that finished 15th at the end of their first ever top-flight campaign.

Still, becoming captain of your local club can be daunting. Not many have done it. It is often historic.

However, for someone who counts Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard among his childhood idols, it is perhaps unsurprising that Maggiore relishes the role, even if he acknowledges that defeats and setbacks affect him more than most.

"I'm from La Spezia, so it's normal that there's more pressure," he says. "There are a lot of things to try to control, not just on the pitch but also off it in terms of helping the group.

"You feel responsible in a lot of situations. When things are not going well, you feel the responsibility to do more.

"However, the captaincy is something that gives me great satisfaction and joy. Leading your hometown club is something that not many people have managed to do.

"So, to captain Spezia as a Spezzino makes it worth twice as much to me."

The victories clearly mean more too.

Spezia had a tough start to the season. Italiano's successor, Thiago Motta, was said to be on the verge of being sacked when the team travelled to Genoa on January 9 for a Ligurian derby doubling as a relegation battle.

Spezia triumphed at the Luigi Ferraris, though, and then stunned AC Milan at San Siro the following weekend before making it three wins on the spin in Serie A with victory over Sampdoria.

They eventually secured another season of top-flight football with a round to spare by beating Udinese away.

"We're a team in constant growth," Maggiore says. "We started with great difficulty obviously, having changed so much during the summer.

"But we've got where we are today with everyone growing slowly but surely.

"We're getting the results that we were hoping for all along and we want to go forward like this.

"We never thought about the other things going on off the field. We always gave our maximum in every game."

Maggiore is clearly enjoying playing under Motta, who has long been treated with scepticism, dating back to quotes about a 2-7-2 system, and yet ended up winning Serie A's Manager of the Month for January.

"He's a bit different to other coaches in that he doesn't have a precise formation," Maggiore reveals.

"He thinks that every player can interpret several roles depending on the game. He can make many changes from the game before.

"But he wants us to always play good football, from the goalkeeper out, and I feel good in this system. The last few months have been satisfying and positive."

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It obviously helps that Motta was a central midfielder of some renown, one Maggiore used to watch closely during the Italy international's time at Inter.

"He was an incredible player," he enthuses, "so it's normal that when he speaks, you listen.

"It's the same with all of the guys but maybe as central midfielders, we have an even more direct relationship. I just try to take on board everything he says.

"Of course, Italiano was, without a doubt, fundamental for my development. He helped improve my runs into the area. I felt good playing under him.

"But I'm enjoying this year too because Thiago Motta asks the same things of me."

With Italiano now excelling at Fiorentina, it was almost inevitable that Maggiore would start being linked with a move to the Artemio Franchi.

After all, he has just a year left on his contract and Spezia may well feel it could soon be time to cash in on a player that has also been linked with Bologna, Roma and Inter.

Maggiore, though, politely but deftly swats away any talk of a transfer. As one would expect of a true captain, he is focused solely on Spezia for the time being.

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Maggiore is a bit more open when it comes to the national team, though, admitting that it is a dream of his to represent the Azzurri.

However, his level-headedness once again shines through in his response, when he says, "They give a call-up to those that deserve it, those that are playing consistently well at their club, but I think that I'm a guy that's still developing.

"Maybe I will have the chance to realise this dream, but slowly, without putting any pressure on myself."

The maturity really is impressive, and so is the passion for Spezia.

He may have given them a lot over the past few years, but it is clear he will never forget the way in which they welcomed him back with open arms all of those years ago.

"Obviously, when you're at Milan, there are usually more possibilities to progress your career than at a Serie B like Spezia, but, luckily, because of the nature of my journey, I think I have always been growing," he says.

"And it's thanks to the trust and the support of Spezia that I've managed to make it where I am today, and become who I am today."

Indeed, Maggiore is not just a Fantasy Football favourite; he is one of those rare but very real hometown heroes.