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Francesco Flachi: Ex-Serie A star returns to pitch after 12-year cocaine ban

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The 46-year-old striker has made his return to football after finishing a long-standing ban due to substance abuse.

Francesco Flachi made over 100 Serie A appearances for Sampdoria and Fiorentina between 1993 and 2010. The striker moved to Serie B side Brescia in 2009. However, the Italian FA banned him from playing professional football due to his cocaine abuse a year later.

Having spent 11 years on the sidelines, the former Serie A star has now returned to the pitch. After five months of training with fifth-tier side Signa 1914, he played for 30 minutes during his side’s 2-2 draw against Prato 2000.

“What have I felt? At first I felt dizzy, I haven’t slept for a week due to tension,” the forward said (via Goal).

“Now I’m so happy, I want to thank everyone who made me feel like I was before: a football player.”

Before moving to Serie B, Flachi was an established striker in the Italian top-flight. In his 280 games for Sampdoria, the former Italy U18 star scored 110 goals for the  Blucerchiati. He sits third on the club’s all-time goalscoring charts behind Gianluca Vialli (141) and Roberto Mancini (171).

Flachi’s new club Signa 1914 is near his home town Florence. They currently sit second in Italy’s fifth-tier league.

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