1 month ago
13
Che Adams lifted the Derbyshire Senior Cup in front of 694 fans.
Ten years ago a 17-year-old Adams helped Ilkeston beat Glossop North End 2-0, the striker winning a second-half penalty to claim the trophy.
A decade later - a journey from the Northern Premier League to northern Italy via Sheffield, Birmingham and Southampton - he made his Serie A debut for Torino in a 2-2 draw with AC Milan at the San Siro.
Two goals in five league games for his new club has helped the Granata to the top, immediately justifying his decision to swap St Mary's for the Stadio Olimpico and allowing him some moments of reflection.
"It's crazy. In football, it's so difficult to look back on these things because you're always about the next game or the next training session," Adams tells BBC Sport, having moved on a free transfer from the Saints in the summer.
"You can't actually sit down and think about what you've achieved in your career. So when something like that is mentioned it brings back good memories and makes me really proud.
"That's why I wanted to come out here because I've not necessarily had a normal footballing career. I want to look back with no regrets, knowing I've maximized everything I could."
Adams, signed by Sheffield United from Ilkeston soon after that cup triumph, is part of the growing Scottish contingent in Italy, with Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour joining Napoli this summer.
Former Celtic midfielder Liam Henderson - who captained Empoli in their 2-1 Coppa Italia win at Torino on Tuesday, in which Adams scored - has played in the country for six years, while Lewis Ferguson is at Bologna and Josh Doig plays for Sassuolo, via Verona.
Torino have made their Scotland international feel at home, though, after five years at Southampton - with Adams' unveiling video filmed in one of Turin's Irish bars - and he is taking Italian lessons.
"It's scary. It's real-life stuff, especially if you have little kids. You have little doubts if you've taken the right decision, if it's the best for the family," says the 28-year-old, with his family dividing their time between England and Italy.
"It was really hard - just changing our whole lives - and leaving is normal for a footballer, but your partner has to pick up all the pieces.
"But it's wanting to expand my experience, to learn about myself, learn about the different way of life and the football side as well. Everyone knows football is a short career and I don't want to look back on it when I'm retired and think: 'Oh, I wish I'd done that or I wish I'd done that'.
"To only have played in England or to play for one club - some people obviously want that in terms of security and stability - but I came up the non-league way, and I've always fought my way in and had a different experience."
Adams confesses he will miss Sunday roast dinners, but has thrown himself into life in Italy - with trips to Lake Como and Milan.
He follows Denis Law as a Scot playing for Torino - while Graeme Souness had four months as manager in 1997 after also leaving Southampton - but why Turin?
"The history of the club speaks the loudest in terms of what happened with the plane crash and how good the team was," he says, referencing the 1949 Superga air disaster which claimed the lives of the Grande Torino team, who won five titles.
"They want to get back to that standard again and that's what they really instilled in me, to just turn my head a little bit differently."
To get back to the top has only taken Adams and new manager Paolo Vanoli, a former Rangers defender, five Serie A games.
Adams scored the winner in the 3-2 win at Verona last week to send Torino to the summit and combat any pre-season pessimism, which has seen friction between supporters and owner Urbano Cairo.
That came after former boss Ivan Juric - appointed Roma manager last week - left, having guided Torino to ninth last season, while key defenders Alessandro Buongiorno and Raoul Bellanova joined Napoli and Atalanta respectively.
Vanoli replaced Juric after taking Venezia from second bottom of Serie B to promotion in 19 months.
After Torino scored just 36 league goals last season, it is also easy to see why Adams - who netted 16 times to help Southampton to promotion from the Championship last term - was in demand.
He repaid that faith on his full debut, with a goal and an assist in a 2-1 comeback win against Atalanta.
Now, as early pacesetters, they host Lazio on Sunday. Few would back Torino lasting the pace, but it does not stop a clearly relaxed Adams from revelling in his new surroundings.
"They want to aim high. Hopefully we can stay around there and that's lined up with what I want in this stage of my career," he says, having enjoyed the subtle differences in Italy - like travelling to last month's game at Venezia by boat.
"You can be the top guy one week and then the zero the next. It's just about being humble, which is what the manager wants. He just says to stay humble, we're doing that and, if we keep going, we'll be fine."
