46 year old returns to professional football after 12-year ban for cocaine use
Francesco Flachi, appeared for fifth-tier outfit Signa 1914 in their 2-2 draw against Prato 2000 on Sunday afternoon.
Flachi spent all of his professional career playing in Serie A and Serie B, finding the back of the net 135 times for Fiorentina, Bari, Ancona, Sampdoria, Empoli and Brescia. He even won the Coppa Italia and Serie B twice - and represented Italy at youth level.
He received a 12-year ban by the Italian FA, effectively ending his playing career aged 34, or so everyone thought.
"This day cancels 12 years of disqualification. It is my rebirth. I hadn’t entered a proper 11-a-side football pitch for 12 years, but I am a man of football and I live for the emotions, which I had missed so much.” said Flachi.
