Exclusive: Nicola Ventola opens up on his time at Crystal Palace and admits injuries wrecked his hopes of being a success in SE25

BY ALESSANDRO SCHIAVONE

Nicola Ventola has admitted he is still haunted by regrets over his failure to help Crystal Palace escape relegation from the Premier League in 2005.

The Italian centre-forward’s stock was sky high when he joined the Eagles on a season-long loan from Inter Milan in the summer of 2004 having played alongside superstars like Ronaldo, Christian Vieri and Roberto Baggio earlier in his career.

But Ventola’s time at Selhurst Park was blighted by injuries and he never quite lived up to his billing, making only three Premier League appearances in his tormented stint at the club.

The 41-year old said: “ Injuries troubled my time at Crystal Palace and English football never saw the real, 100 per cent fit Nicola Ventola. That’s a regret and I feel sorry that I could not help this fantastic club and my team-mates in their mission to stay in the Premier League [Crystal Palace were relegated at the end of the 2004-2005 season].

“I missed five months of that season through injury and when I eventually returned, I struggled to get 100 per cent fit and we all know how physically demanding English football is.

“I have no doubts that injuries were the only reason that held me back from performing at the highest level. My relationship with team-mates and the gaffer, Iain Dowie, were great.

“Let’s not forget that had Palace stayed in the Premier League it would have triggered an automatic one-year extension in my contract. After all, my intention was to revive my career in London and maybe stay put, but things did not go to plan and I had to return to my parent club Inter Milan in the summer of 2005. But I repeat – my desire was to stay in London beyond that single season.”

Ventola relished his time in South London despite his goal drought and the inability to force his way back into the team once he put his injury issues behind him.

To make matters worse, the whole team’s profound underperformance that season did not play in Ventola’s hands either.

On the rare occasions Dowie brought him on, the Italian could barely showcase his finishing qualities due to a lack of service to feed off in front of goal.

“Despite the little sporting success I have fantastic memories from my time at Palace,” said Ventola.

“And I cannot speak highly enough of the buzzing atmosphere at Selhurst Park and the passionate supporters, who were always kind with me.

“Off the pitch I had a great time in London. But I am not gonna lie, I saw the city more through the eyes of a tourist than of a Premier League footballer because injuries meant I had a lot of free time on my hands.

“I really like how all those different nationalities live together in London, the melting pot and the diversity it creates makes everything special.”

The Eagles have come a long way since they suffered top-flight relegation 14 years ago when Ventola was still plying his trade in SE25.

The club has consolidated in the Premier League since winning promotion via the Championship play-offs in 2013.

Not only have they produced top-quality talent through their academy in Wilfried Zaha and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, they have also signed established stars like Mamadou Sakho and Yohan Cabaye.

Palace are a solid and organised unit under Roy Hodgson who took a limited but capable Fulham squad into the Europa League.

The Eagles are only two points behind fifth-placed Manchester United.

Ventola said: “Crystal Palace have improved a lot since I left, they are up and running this season. And it would have been unthinkable 15 years ago for them to sign the players that they get now.

“What I find remarkable is that many of their players [like Wan-Bissaka] are snapped up by the league’s best clubs and this is testament to how well the club is run.

“Credit to their scouting system for always managing to recruit top players. This, we should not forget, has been enabled by a bigger budget compared to when I was there.

“English clubs are very rich these days thanks to the television rights, which also ensures that ‘smaller’ clubs like Crystal Palace can give clubs in the title race a run for their money and nick a point or three off them.

“But it’s not just Palace, it’s English football as a whole that has come a long way since 2005. The physical aspect hasn’t changed but before you only had English managers in the Premier League, now there’s a wealth of foreign coaches.

“They have a instilled a new mentality and improved English football as a whole, not least tactically.

“But I believe that English football was already at a high standard even in my days, although now the world’s best players end up in the Premier League, while before they tended to go to Serie A and La Liga.

“At the moment the English league is the most beautiful to watch, not just because of the great players gracing the Premier League pitches but also due to the modern infrastructures and the new glamorous stadiums.”

It is no mystery that a number of elite footballers struggle with mental illness after the end of their playing career as they don’t know how to replace the buzz of playing football in front of huge crowds and the lavish paydays.

On top of that, there is a restricted amount of jobs in the game available to players looking for a potential second career in the game in the role of manager, sporting director or the media.

Ventola is a Serie A pundit for DAZN. He said: “I don’t really miss the adrenaline of the match itself. What I miss the most from my playing career is the dressing room banter and the time I spent with my team-mates every day in training.

“That was the most emotional part of being a footballer for me.

“These days I am a sports commentator, analyzing games and voicing my views on teams, games and individual performances.

“Upon retirement in 2011 I became a pundit at Sky Sports, then I went to the United Arab Emirates to work for Abu Dhabi Sports Channel.

“I have been working in football ever since hanging up my boots.”