Top News

The childhood of former striker Andrea Carnevale was blighted by a horrific family tragedy he witnessed. Carnevale, 64, was a member of the great team of the 1980s which was spearheaded by Diego Maradona.

But while the team, who won two titles between 1986 and 1990, was filled with eccentric characters, nobody had suffered a childhood like Carnevale. His early life was marred by tragedy as his schizophrenic father routinely abused his mother. Despite his repeated pleas to the authorities about the domestic torment suffered behind closed doors, his mother's life was tragically cut short when his father murdered her with an axe while she was washing their clothes in the river. However, Carnevale, who is now the chief scout at Udinese, did not let the tragedy define him. Now 64, the former Italy international has revealed the chilling details of the ordeal in his autobiography 'Il Destino di un Bomber' (The Destiny of a Striker). He told : "My mother never reported him for fear they would do something to the children.

"My father was very jealous. There was a climate of terror at home. I was there when she was slapped and beaten. On the morning of September 25, 1975, he woke up, grabbed an axe and went to my mother, who was washing clothes by the river near our house and killed her. I ran with the blood-stained axe to the police."

Carnevale, who earned 10 caps for his country and scored two goals between 1989 and 1990, has openly spoken about the harrowing childhood he endured as one of seven siblings. He revealed that a profound fear he harboured was the thought of growing up and becoming like his father.

At just 16, two years after his mother's horrific murder, Carnevale bravely visited his father in prison. He added: "I wanted to look him in the eyes. He had taken everything from me in life. But when I saw him, I gave him a strong hug. Somehow, I forgave him, despite knowing that before me stood a very sick man. For many years I lived with the pain but also the fear of being like him. But no, I am not like him. I realised this when I saw him."

Explaining his father's mental state, he added: "He was schizophrenic. He was never treated, a few years later he took his own life by throwing himself out of a window in front of my eyes."

Many years later, when Carnevale was earning good money as a footballer, he returned to his family home and bought it. He said: "With my first money, I immediately bought our farmhouse in Monte San Biagio in Latina where we grew up.

"I paid 450 million old lire. It remains the best investment of my life: the theatre of horror became the theatre of love. There is serenity and strong union; happiness is another thing though - nothing will ever be like before.

"Everyone has their own life. My wife Beatrice is my world - the woman who understood me and immediately gave me a second chance - my everything."