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Willy Gnonto: How the Lionel Messi-loving Leeds winger made history with Italy after leaving Inter at 16

Willy Gnonto has a simple motto: "To always try to enjoy myself." And for him, that means playing regular football. When he was a kid growing up in Verbania, it was all he thought about. Which was understandable, in fairness. His family lived above a small pitch.

"When I looked out the window," he later explained, "I only saw the ball."

Not much has changed in the interim. Like every footballer, Gnonto just wants to play.

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Unlike some of his peers, though, he's willing to take risks in order to make it happen.

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