The Andrea Fileccia Story

"You leave your perfect environment surrounded by your loved ones, and the next day you’re just another player amongst twenty-five others and you have to become mentally strong."

Andrea Fileccia|Soccer Laduma

It's just like any other day in a journalist's life and I am daydreaming about the next football interview I'll be doing. Mind you, this interview had been a long time coming. It was a matter of timing as we have to follow the schedule of footballers for us to get a moment of their time. The day comes and it's a matter of confirmation and I was on the phone to Maritzburg United's striker, Andrea Fileccia. 

The minute he picks up the phone, my ears are enticed by a strong, French accent but also well-spoken for someone who didn't speak much English when he first graced the shores of South Africa back in 2014. He is cool, calm and collected ready for me to hit the record button with my questions - this is second nature to footballers; it's like they all go to the same school to be accustomed to journalist's questions. 

We get on with the interview taking it back to his childhood in Belgium but I had to confirm where exactly where he was born as some reports have mentioned Italy. "I was born in Mons and grew up there but my family is from Naples and Sicily (Italy). My childhood was normal, nothing special or out of the ordinary, I grew up being surrounded by family that is my parents and siblings and we were all together. When I mention family, it also included cousins and grandparents as well. It was an incredible time in my life being surrounded by my family like that,'' as told to The L.A Dosage. 

The way he speaks of his family is something of love and passion; you could hear it in his voice that he has grown surrounded by love no matter the trials and tribulations he may have been through. A family is incredibly important to have especially in the football environment as a stable support unit especially when the going gets tough and better yet, in good times when you are succeeding in every aspect of your career. 

As common as it may be, I ask him about where the love for football came from and how supportive his family was of his career despite his father having been a footballer in his time in Belgium. It's always somewhat fascinating to know where it all started for a footballer. Throughout the stories you read, you always find out the true motivation behind them venturing into the game whether it's through a relative or idolising some of our football greats. - there is always a story behind the motivation.

Growing up with his father was one of his fondest memories, "I started playing football when I was three-years-old with my father, he was also a player during his time in Belgium but in the lower league and he became my personal coach very soon. I wanted to follow my father on the training ground. Actually, my first footsteps were on the football pitch at 9 months; I just had a moment and stood up to walk."

Andrea Fileccia|TimesLive

It starts to get interesting as the interview unravels. At this point, Andrea has become comfortable with the interview and it feels like a conversation between two old friends - or perhaps it is just the joys of having cellphones in this generation and it breaks the ice much easier than in person. It gets to the point where he starts speaking about the time football was starting to take over his academics and no matter where you are in the world, no one can say their parents would be pleased with such. Remembering that his Dad was a former footballer but how did he truly feel about his son slacking in what is supposed to give him a 'brighter future'.

He says: "One day when I was at school and my schoolwork wasn't so good and I was about 14/15 years old and my mother told me I would not play football if I don't pull up my socks at school, and at the time football was just for fun and school was supposed to be more serious and give you a better future. In those days, I was more focused on football and my schooling was really slacking and on weekends we were supposed to play a game, and my father knew how bad my school marks were. So on that particular weekend, we played a game away from home and I scored the winning goal at the 95th minute and my team won the game."

My father said 'your mother told me about your schoolwork' but he said, 'no problem carry on playing great football the way you are and I will manage the problem with your mother.' It just goes to show that my father believed in me strongly because the fact that he used to play football and also has a UEFA B coaching license to enable him to do coaching, and he was training in the first division in Belgium for the U17s. I think he saw something in me, he was always there to motivate me and push me and that was a great time in my life. It was really good," he tells The L.A Dosage. 

Talk about incredible support from someone who had played the game and been through it all; it was truly an important point in young Fileccia's life experiencing the love and support from his father and feeling like he can take on the football world as long as his personal coach is by his side through it all. That's his childhood wrapped up. The network plays tricks on us when I am about to ask him about his youth career in Mons and eventually landing up in Feyenoord and it cuts us off. We pause for a moment and I call him back. We are back on and we share our apologies for that brief error. 

He says: "I was still going to school normally and I was starting to become one of the best players in the academy in Mons and I wasn’t even 16 yet and I was playing with the U23s and for me I was just flying there because I was feeling my very best and my family was there with me, supporting me and the environment wasn’t just about football, it was about really about growth. When I left Mons to go to Feyenoord, I fairly understood that I was not in the same environment anymore as opposed to Mons. When you sign for a team like Feyenoord, you know it’s for business and not just for fun and playing simple football. They know that they can make money with you, and they can see something in your feet and in your abilities and it’s normal because if you don’t score on Saturday, they’ll question your ability and why you aren’t scoring. They look at what you can do better, and how you can improve on that. I left my family when I was 16 and I was completely lonely, to make matters worse I wasn’t even speaking Dutch, one day led to another.''

"You leave your perfect environment surrounded by your loved ones, and the next day you’re just another player amongst other 25 others and you have to become mentally strong. You have to train yourself but it’s not easy because you’ve got a lot of pressure coming from coaches with constant questions, club, parents etc because you’re not only there to train but to be the ideal footballer. There are so many expectations from the club and coaches even the players because they all want to win cups, the league and they want you to become one of the best players in the league, a top goal scorer and everything just showed that it has a higher level to it. It kind of motivates you to understand what you want from yourself in terms of your goals because in those days you knew what your life was going to be life for the next 10-15 years in football and that was the next step from playing football for fun to it being your future career," Fileccia tells The L.A Dosage. 

In this conversation, I got to understand a lot that Andrea had gone through and by listening to him speak, you could sense the growth and maturity having been out of his comfort zone for such a long time. One could say that this stage of his life taught him how to be strong especially being away from his family and not having anyone to lean on physically at such a young age. So how did the levels of football in Belgium and The Netherlands differ from each other having experienced both intensively? Surely there was a lot of adapting to do having learned something completely to having to grasp another way of playing. It can lead to intense frustration if the player doesn't quite get to that level as expected. Andrea is eager to tell me about his experiences at the Feyenoord Academy, it was almost like a child at the candy store for him having arrived there to something he hadn't been exposed to. 

"I think it was quicker in the Netherlands (Feyenoord academy). I remember the first months were completely different for me because I wasn’t playing in a big team in Belgium. It was a still a good team but not in the greatest capacity. I could feel the difference very strongly between the two places and it was difficult for me to adapt to the field. It was a really tough time. I could see that everything was professional in the Netherlands because all the facilities were there. They had 15 fields, you can train. You have the likes of the fitness coach for the youth. There were so many things I wasn’t used to when I was still in Belgium and for me, that was the main difference. There’s also the Saturday games where the levels were quite higher and I say this with utmost respect to Belgian football. I have to say that it was ten years ago with that kind of football in Belgium, perhaps now it’s on the same level but in my time it was still quite different, basically average."

"I had two years with Feyenoord which were very good. I learned so many things, tricks about how to improve as a striker especially in the way that they move or to attack the space or to create runs for yourself and your teammates. I never really expected my professional debut when it happened especially when I debuted in the first game. I still remember how the game was like it was yesterday. The game was very quick on the field, I think we were losing 3-0 away but it was really incredible. I was feeling very proud because I was around 17/18, can’t remember but it felt like it was a dream coming true. You know football is not like school or going to university for five years and you’re guaranteed to get a job after that. Football means that you have to work incredibly hard to get where you are. So when that debut happened it was somewhat a shock to my system after having been playing for about 15 years. After that game, I realised that I was now part of the guys that are playing at the highest level. I was feeling incredibly proud of myself and my family was proud of me as well. It was truly a great time," he speaks fondly of this time. 

As per usual, there is a time when a footballer has to leave and attempt to ply their trade elsewhere and this was the case with Fileccia when his time at the Feyenoord Academy came to an end. Where to next was the question at the time for him but surely he wouldn't have to struggle as he was at the top of his game at the time and clubs would have been keen for his services especially having gone through the Netherlands system; as I remember when he said that football in Belgium at the time wasn't at it's very best. During this time, the Belgian would experience some trying times in his football career, such as betrayal and frustration as he continues to tell his story. 

He says: "After being with Excelsior in the last season, I moved to the second division in the Netherlands and at that time an agent had promised me many things. He told me that there were some first division teams that were keen on me in Belgium and that I need to resign from my current team (at the time) in the Netherlands and he added that the team I was in wanted money and for me to go away and he told me if I leave now I’ll get a better salary and everything. I think it was a big lie because nothing came from it when I eventually resigned. And then they promised me a salary the day that I came to sign for the deal.

"They told me that they’d have to give me a smaller package etc. At the end of the day, it’s not always about money but what you say beforehand - what you put on the table. You can’t say to someone that I’ll give you this and that, the next it’s the complete opposite when you come to sign. You don’t feel good after going through such with all the empty promises. I then went to La Louvier. It was very tough that side because they didn’t pay the players for months on end then you get paid then it’s back to the same thing again. You have to fight because at the end of the day you have bills to pay. 

"So with that said, you can’t focus properly on your football because of what’s happening behind the scenes. I had to learn so many things; one of the things being able to manage my finances because it wasn’t simple. I then met Tom Saintfiet; he was coaching in Belgium at the time and it was he that brought me in South Africa because he signed for Free State Stars. Saintfiet saw me in Belgium and then he came to me after one of my games and said: “I don’t know what you’re doing here in Belgium playing for these teams because you seem to be a good player; having played for Feyenoord and in the Netherlands for 4 years”. He (Tom) was actually supposed to have a coaching stint in Belgium and then called me in July 2014 and I’m now in SA and if you still interested, I’m still looking for a number 9 or 10 because you can play both roles and I’m still keen on you. That’s when I came to sign for Free State Stars in South Africa," he tells The L.A Dosage. 

Andrea Fileccia|KickOff

Before we carry on to his time now in South Africa, I ask him to backtrack to the time he was without a club; which was about a year or so - yet another trying time in his career. I could somewhat sense the pain when he speaks of this time and it seemed like that was the end of him. Perhaps it was time to reconsider his future as the football world was not giving back what he had been putting in all this time since the tender age of seven. 

"Yes for sure! I never expected something like this in my life to happen. I played in the Netherlands for 4 years, then I find myself in the middle of nowhere and you don’t know what you have to do and during this time I even went back to school to study because I was already planning to do something else as I was disgusted and disappointed in the football world. I was even planning to become a physiotherapist or something of that sort. I was a bit lost during that time. I think it was about a year or 18 months. I didn’t know what I wanted to do and then I had to become very strong. My family was always around, still supporting me no matter what. They gave me the strength and motivation to go forward and then one day my life just turned around completely when I came here to South Africa," he reminisces on a time he'd rather forget. 

So now Fileccia is in South Africa. If he thought he was out of his comfort zone like his time in the Netherlands then, he was in for another surprise - more like culture shock and so much more. What did he know about the country? Was he at least prepared for what was ahead of him? So many questions that need answers. 

He says: "Before I came to SA, I hadn’t known much about the football. My knowledge was merely about Mandela and what he’d done for the country and I was very surprised when the coach, Saintfiet was about to sign me here in the professional football league. I didn’t know about the likes of Sundowns and all the others. I just knew these teams from the FIFA game. (laughs) So it was a massive surprise when I came here especially in Free State. I didn’t know what to expect from South Africa. My first day in Bethlehem was a bit of a shock to the system because there was nothing around. 

"The coach speaks French as well and there were a few guys who spoke French from Togo and Burkina Faso who were conversing with me. I had a quick adaptation because of that. It was still okay when I was on the field and at the hotel when I was camping before the game. But then when I was now home alone, waiting for the next training session knowing I have no friends or family around me then it’s quite tough. The culture is different, the weather. FS was very hot that time I arrived. Back home in Europe, you’re so used to your comfort zone where you can go out anywhere with your friends to have a coffee but then when I was at FSS it was training in the morning and getting home to wait for the next day again to repeat so it was very tough. I had to spend my time learning English. Funny enough, when I got to Bethlehem I thought they were going to give me a teacher to a few months to help learn the basics. I had to teach myself through books, movies and music. You can hear that I can speak with you because of teaching myself. I think I’ve improved a lot. It was not easy but I did it."

Did he have seconds thoughts upon come to South Africa was the million dollar question? "Yeah definitely especially in the first month. I was asking myself what I was doing here because I’ve left my family behind and everything I know. I knew that I was not about to see them again for the next six months. But you know, I never give up and that’s why I never thought of resigning even when I was not playing under the new coach who came after Tom Saintfiet. For me personally, if I keep something that means I’ll have to keep value. I’m not the kind of guy who will go to a club, sign a contract and at the first obstacle I decide that it’s too difficult for me and go back to my environment. A part of me knows that I will eventually be okay. I told myself I’m here for a reason and I want to succeed in football. I think it’s just part of my personality,'' he tells The L.A Dosage. 

This interview has reached its peak and I am just in so much awe listening to Andrea Fileccia telling his life story - from Belgium to Africa: the journey of a Belgian footballer; baring in mind this might just be a title for his autobiography. Now that I think of it, I should have told him this idea. Anyway, moving right along; so much has happened and now we are getting to a close and I ask him to take me through the initial meeting and him signing for his current team, Maritzburg United and what if his plans include staying further in South Africa or going back to Europe. I also asked him about his relationship with the head coach, Fadlu Davids. Football fans are always curious to know the relationships between players and their coaches but some are never comfortable indulging further whether the relationships are good or bad. 

"I signed for Maritzburg United because of Middendorp (Ernst) at the time. I knew him very well and he gave me all the motivation I needed to move over. The day he became the coach there, and he said he wanted to sign me. I didn’t even hesitate because I knew him and I knew what I could do with him and what I can contribute to the team. I think it was a smart choice for myself and my target is to become the best player I can be. I respect him very much. I think he’s one of the best coaches I’ve met so far. My contract finishes at the end of the season and I don’t know what will happen with the team (laughs). That’s all I can say about my situation. I think Fadlu is a great coach and we have a professional relationship going. I wish he could go on to coach a much bigger as he has the potential," he said. 

The motivation to keep playing comes from yourself as a player no matter where you are in the world because you know what you want to achieve when you play. Football requires you to be strong and you have to stick with that strong mentality. Self-discipline in every aspect is very important. You have to go the extra mile, even doing what the coaches don’t tell you sometimes. You have to do extra in order to be the best player. It comes from within. ", Fileccia concludes our interview with some pearls of wisdom. 

Till next time. . .