Beverley Town are toasting a huge coup after landing the signature of a former Serie A star.
Daniele Mannini has played for the likes of Napoli, Brescia and Sampdoria in his career. Now, aged 38, he is embarking on an unlikely stint at the tenth tier non-league Yorkshire side.
And the manner of how the move came about is even more bizarre, as Beverley chairman Mark Smith describes.
"I was out walking my dog when I got chatting to another dog walker," Smith says. "He happened to say he played a bit of football in the past, I told him I was the chairman of Beverley Town and he should get down to pre-season training. Little did I know he had over 200 Serie A appearances under his belt!"
Mannini had not played football since leaving third division Italian outfit Pontedera in January 2020. He had effectively retired and since moved to East Yorkshire to work as a sales executive.
But a chance encounter whilst walking his pooch now means he is preparing to once again get his boots on and no doubt his presence will attract a bumper crowd when Beverley take on Athersley in their NCEL Division One curtain-raiser at Athersley Recreation on July 30. Manager Dave Ricardo says he was amazed at Mannini's talent when he first saw him at a training session.
He said: "Most managers and coaches at any level will always say there are one or two players that crop up in pre-season that you didn’t expect to become available. I think it can be safely said Dani for sure falls into this category.
"From a chance meeting walking his dog to signing for Beverley Town three weeks later you can safely say this comes under Barry Fry's methods of transfer rather one of Pep Guardiola's! I cannot speak highly enough of Dani's attitude, and his training and dedication have been first class. Dani can be a real inspiration for everyone involved at the club, its not often you get someone who has played the amount of games Dani has done at a high level, never mind in Serie A.
"Anyone who was lucky enough to be at the Frickley friendly recently would have seen his undoubted quality, and the people of Beverley will not want to miss him in action when the season starts. He has a lovely family who have settled in Beverley, and on behalf of the club I welcome his in-laws, children, and partner to the club, I know the supporters will do the same.”
In 2008, Mannini and fellow Brescia players Santacroce and Hamsik left for Napoli in an €18 million - Mannini was sold for €7m. In 2009 he joined Sampdoria, for €3.5m before a further move to Siena in 2011 for €450,000.
