Almost four years have passed since former Roma, Inter and Italy star Daniel Osvaldo kicked a ball in anger professionally. It was not injury, nor suspension, nor any other footballing reason that kept the eccentric Argentine out in the cold; rather, a stunning change of career that saw him trade in his boots for a microphone and guitar.
One only needs to look at the sheer number of terrible singles released by footballers over the years to see that there are plenty of full-backs and centre-forwards who deep down nurse a frustrated dream of rock stardom. Few, however, go quite as far as Osvaldo, who in 2016 quit Boca Juniors after allegedly being caught smoking a cigarette in the dressing room during a Copa Libertadores match and, at just 30, decided to retire in order to pursue his passion for music.
But now he is back, lining up once more in the Argentine top flight. Banfield sprung one of the transfer shocks of the summer by bringing Osvaldo back from retirement – just the latest twist in a career that has never failed to raise an eyebrow.
“I don't think it's crazy,” Banfield coach Julio Falcioni told reporters upon Osvaldo's arrival. “The fear we have is those three years without playing, with respect to his sharpness. It's a long time.
“Physically he is in impeccable shape, he has to get back the rhythm of playing and competing. He plays well, we don't have to worry about anything.
“If I see him smoking a cigarette, he'll have to come up to my office and give me one. Before out of 30 players 20 used to smoke. That happened with me, now look at me, I'm f***ed. But I am not worried about him smoking.”
With all the controversy that has marked his time in football, it is easy to forget that at his best, Osvaldo was a player of immense talent. Having started his career at Huracan, he had only just turned 20 when Atalanta came knocking in Serie B.
Spells in the Italian top flight with Fiorentina and Bologna followed, but the Lanus native really hit his stride at Espanyol, scoring 22 goals in 47 games for the Barcelona side. That form attracted the attention of Roma, where he moved in 2011, immediately striking up a lethal forward partnership with the young Erik Lamela and club legend Francesco Totti that made the Giallorossi one of Italy's most entertaining outfits.
His prowess in front of goal also caught the eye of Italy, who convinced him to switch nationalities and line up for the Azzurri. But indiscipline remained a concern even at Osvaldo's peak. In November 2011 he was suspended and fined by Roma for punching Lamela in the face, allegedly because his Argentine compatriot did not pass the ball to him during a loss against Udinese.
His Roma spell eventually ended under a cloud when he publicly insulted interim coach Aurelio Andreaozzoli following a Coppa Italia final defeat to arch-rivals Lazio in 2013 – an act that also cost him his national team spot.
Subsequent spells at Southampton, Juventus and Inter failed to bear fruit, but there were signs the old Osvaldo was back when in 2015 he joined boyhood idols Boca. His stint, however, was interrupted by yet another change of club, this time to Porto; and he returned to the Bombonera in 2016 ravaged by injuries and seething under the authority of no-nonsense coach Guillermo Barros Schelotto, who drummed him out of the club following that infamous Libertadores transgression.
“There were 12 of us who smoked in that Boca team and I was the one who got kicked out. And Guillermo saw them do it, you know?” Osvaldo fired in 2018 to Marca while on tour with his band, Barrio Viejo, in Spain. “He used to tell them they couldn't, that's all. He didn't even tell me.
“He's lucky I was smoking a cigarette then because if not I'd have ripped his head off. He gave me a minute and a half in the game [against Nacional] as if I were 14 years old.
“If you want to kick out a player with the record I had when I came to Boca, we can go for a coffee and you tell me, 'Let's look for the best way to move you out.' You don't go public saying I smoked a cigarette. Guillermo had no respect and was a coward.”
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The last three years have seen Osvaldo dedicate himself to Barrio Viejo, with the band cutting two albums of melodic, bluesy rock that borrows heavily from the singer/guitarist's beloved Rolling Stones. His journey also included a stint on the 2019 Italian version of "Dancing with the Stars," making the final of the reality program and showing that he could still move, at least on the dance floor.
Football took a back seat, with the nocturnal lifestyle of the rock star not usually conducive to maintaining prime physical fitness. “I'm not much of a fan of the daytime,” Dani admitted to Marca. “I smoke a lot, yesterday I played with some friends of mine and I almost choked. Today everything hurts.”
Banfield will be hoping that, even if Osvaldo does not make it for their first match of 2020, Sunday's Superliga clash at home to Patronato, he will be able to shake enough of the cobwebs away in order to lead them away from mid-table obscurity – they lie 16th in Argentina's 24-team top flight – and into contention for Copa Sudamericana qualification by season's end.
For Osvaldo himself, meanwhile, it is a chance to show his detractors that behind the tobacco and indiscipline the talent remains intact, even if at 34, time is running out for the striker, one player who, whatever his critics might say, most definitely - and often literally - dances to his own tune.
