New Sutton United signing Davide Rodari says he is thrilled to be back in full-time football and eager to begin the next chapter of his career under a familiar manager at Gander Green Lane.
The Swiss-born Italian striker made the switch to Sutton to work with Chris Agutter for a third time, having established himself as a lethal goalscorer during their time together at Hastings United.
After trying to sign him last season at Worthing, Agutter has finally got his man, with Rodari putting pen to a paper on a permanent deal at Sutton, having spent the first half of the season at Hampton & Richmond Borough.
After taking part in his first couple of training sessions ahead of this weekend’s trip to Solihull Moors, Davide was taken on a tour of the ground as he fulfilled his media duties, before sitting down with Sutton United FCtv to discuss his move and the opportunity to return to a full-time environment.
“I’m delighted to come here and play under Agi again for the third time and being back into full-time football. So I’m buzzing to get going.”
“I was delighted to be back into step two again, try to score some goals, you know, help the team. But ultimately, when there’s a full-time club coming for you, you know, it was a no-brainer for me to go back up, as my aim is always to get back in the Football League.”
Born in Switzerland but raised in Italy, Davide had said that he considers himself purely Italian, and before arriving in England, he spent time within one of Europe’s most prestigious academies – Italian giants, Inter Milan – an experience that left a lasting impression.
This was then followed by him making the brave decision to come over to England while still a teenager as he looked to gain additional life experience and expand upon his culture.
“It’s good. I played in Italy, Switzerland, then I moved to the UK at 16. So, you know, I’ve been a bit everywhere playing football, but my dream was always to come to England and play football here, so kind of living my dream.”
“It [coming over to England] was more a decision that I took as I wanted to grow as a person and I think the best way to do that is just by, not in a bad way, but living your family, so you’ve got to look after yourself, grow as a person, mentally especially.”
“I remember because I was coming from one of the lowest team in Italy, like a really low academy, but then just training with Inter Milan players and one of them was [Andrea] Pinamonti, who now plays in Serie A [at Sassuolo] and bangs goals at that level. So yeah, it was good.”
Since settling in England, Rodari has steadily worked his way up through non-league football, earning opportunities at higher levels along the way.
His first senior opportunity came under Agutter at Hastings, and he has since utilised the football pyramid by climbing as high as League Two, with Crawley Town, while maintaining his reputation as one of the most dangerous forwards in non-league, with it being at Hastings where he truly made his mark, enjoying his most prolific spell in front of goal.
“I started at Eastbourne Borough’s Under-18s, under Agi, then I moved to Hastings with him. I was there for four years, and then I got brought by Crawley Town. I was there for two and a half years. I had a few spells at Worthing and Dartford and Dorking as well, and then back to Hastings for two seasons and then Hampton and Richmond for the last six months.”
“I scored 35 under Agi [in his first spell at Hastings] and then 27 last year, so that was my best spell, yeah. I’ve always thrived under him, so I’m hoping to do the same here.”
“I want to put the stats on the pitch, you know, goals, assists. Ultimately play well as well and win, and win games, especially.”
Reflecting on his time in the Football League with Crawley, Rodari has also gained valuable experience despite setbacks, and is looking forward to playing at his highest level since his spell with the Red Devils.
“I think the first few months I went there, it was really good, got myself a goal as well. But after that, one injury that killed me a little bit just before the start of the season and then obviously everyone else is a lot ahead of you and the only way to get back was going out on loan.
To be fair, I didn’t mind that because I played a lot of football. I nearly won promotion through the play-offs with Dorking, we were in the semi-final, and I’ve had a good spell even with them when I was out on loan.”
“I’ve been on both sides, you know, I’ve been in a winning team and in a relegated team, so I know what it feels like.”
Now reunited with Agutter in a full-time setting, Rodari is eager to push on once again.
“I can’t wait, especially because now we’re both full time, so that’s always been kind of my goal.”
“My aim is just to just climb as high as I can on the table, try and get the play-offs, you know, you never know where it takes you after a few games, especially around this time, and just get goals and assists.”
