The Man Behind ADPB

Before we continue with all things ADP, I guess a few words about myself are in order.

My name is Marco Pantanella, and some of you may know me already on the Offside community, since I’ve been regularly posting comments on the Italy and Juventus blogs. I’m 26 years old, and have been a soccer enthusiast pretty much since I started kicking the ball around in my garden, back when I was still a little baby. From then on, enthusiasm became a passion, and passion eventually lead to starting a “career” as blogger and the creation of my mCalcio.com website in July 2007.

During my childhood years, I was fortunate enough to have been exposed to a variety of cultures: born from Italian parents in Germany (1982, the year Italy won the World Cup!!!), I lived in a town called Darmstadt for 8 years before moving to Paris with my folks. I stayed in France until the year 2000, and with my high school diploma in hand decided it was time to move away from the home nest. So I embarked on a plane, crossed the Atlantic, and settled in… Canada! I have been here ever since. 

My dream of becoming a professional soccer player sort of never really took off (Dream? More like wishful thinking…), but I’ve been practicing the beautiful game for as far as can I remember. Over the course of my life, I’ve had the opportunity to play soccer on the fields of Italy, Germany, France, Belgium, Spain, Canada, and… Martinique.

As a good patriot, I’ve been a vivid follower of Italian soccer throughout the years, but I’ve also kept a keen interest for most of Europe’s top soccer leagues. I became a Juventus fan back in the days of another Italian nº10 legend, which even led me to copy his ‘Divine Pony Tail’ at a point in my life (lame I know… and unfortunately, that’s the only thing I could copy), I am talking of course about Roberto Baggio. One year after the semi-glorious USA 94 World Cup, Roby departed to AC Milan, so it was only natural to shift my affection towards the man who inherited his iconic nº10 jersey. Alessandro Del Piero became my new idol and the rest, as they say, is history.

mCalcio.com as well as the ADP blog you’re reading is the result of my passion for soccer & writing, and an attempt to share this passion with others. I hope you enjoy it! :]