By clement mazella
Published in
In front of Pau, Angel Capuozzo He had his first term with the Toulouse Stadium. A match in which he retired from the game, although collectively “there were more downs than ups.” rugby news went to meet him. The 23-year-old, calm and thoughtful, returned to his tripand gives us manyanecdotes.
A boy with a very fast character.
Born in Grenoble in 1999, in italian origins but also having a Malagasy paternal grandfather, Ange Capuozzo is a “very fast” little boy. “He needed to express myself physically, to move, to go outside, to get some air, to ride a bike, to play football, to pass rugby… he was very outdoorsy,” he tells us. His parents contributed to this. Between 5-12 years old, without TV. In short, the console, far from it, gives way to large open spaces. And especially with his father. “I had the opportunity to play a lot with him. In football, in boxing… he let me win, of course”, he smiles.
Your first sport? Judo. “To channel me. I also liked to have good contacts with the other children.” He discovered rugby at the age of 6 and started in the U7 category at US Deux-Ponts. Jack of all trades, Ange tries soccer, because of the importance of this sport within his family. “But it was impossible to do both. I was finally bitten by rugby from a very young age, so I gave up on the oval ball.” A little later, he tried his luck in Burmese boxing for a year and a half, but also in English boxing. “When you go up the ranks in rugby it takes a lot of time and energy, so we had to drop all these activities.”
Dominici and Clerc made him dream young
Rugby has been a passion for Ange Capuozzo since childhood. His childhood idol. He says, without thinking too much: Christopher Dominici. “I loved his style, I recognized myself in him with his avoidance rugby. He also had this gringa, this rage, this extra soul, and when you’re a viewer, that’s necessarily what you like. That sparkle in his eyes was something. I’ve always loved this player.”
Being from Grenoble, the current Toulouse winger also evokes the local vincent clergyman. “I was a fan of his too. How many times has he made me dream of these pirouettes with the XV of France? A great player”.
As a teenager, it was a South African who conquered him: gio aplon. “He really influenced me. When he was little he always had a helmet, I took it off when I was 11-12 years old. And when he arrived in Grenoble, I was in Cadets, and I put the helmet back on just to imitate him. I identified with him, he had a certain magic, he was a knockout at any meeting”.
He faced Romain Ntamack in youth
Ange Capuozzo tells us another anecdote: young, she faced Romain Ntamack, his current partner in Toulouse. It was during his 2nd tournament with the FCG, near Montpellier. “Roman was in front of us. I met his father, Emile, it is a sacred memory. Already, being in the shoes of the opponent, we had this image of the great club, an enormous force. We had lost, of course. Stade Toulousain took a lot of semifinals or finals from me (laughs). There was a brilliant generation 99-2000, they won a lot”, recalls the Italian international (5 caps).
he is a real football fan
If he gave his priority to rugby, Ange Capuozzo is, however, soccer fan, a very important sport in his family. Your favorite club? the F.C. Napoli. Inevitably, when you have a family of Neapolitan origin… “I love this club, especially through the legend of Diego Maradona,” he insists.
He confesses to closely follow the results of this team. “I saw their European Cup match against Liverpool where they scored 4. Last weekend I also saw the match won against AC Milan. They’re having a great start to the season, but this season I didn’t believe it.” And in France? “Olympic Marseille. I have this OM culture because I’m a kid from the 2000s,” he jokes.
Happy with the Italian title in 2006
Your first great football memory? The 2006 World Cup. And if France lost on penalties, Ange Capuozzo was on their side quite happily. The reason ? The winner was none other than Italy. “It’s true, I was happy. I was 7 years old. I think I also followed the winner’s camp a bit. I have very good memories of her.” He develops for us:
I remember Quai Perrière in Grenoble. It is the old Italian quarter, it is the meeting place for Italians at important moments. When Italy was champion, it was totally invaded by the whole community, my father brought me and I have a wonderful memory of that. I have no problem saying that he was happy that Italy were world champions in 2006.
A very studious boy at the training center.
If he was a very fast child, Ange Capuozzo quickly got on track. At the training center in Grenoble, which he joined a little late, he even had the label of the “quiet” boy. “I didn’t have the style to sneak up on the wall. I have never been so studious in my life as I was then. I was very careful,” he admits.
The one who started as a professional during the year of Covid-19 admits that at that time he was “connected to personal development”. “I read a lot, I learned about how to feel better, to be better in my head, in my body. I experienced a lot of things like getting up very early (Miraculous Mornings).” Barely 20 years…
A nod to Pau…
Her first professional match, Ange Capuozzo played it on a day in May 2019. She remembers it without blinking an eye. “In Pau in the Top 14”. An encounter where he plays about twenty minutes in … n ° 9. “This is the position I held at Espoirs”, he said, before specifying: “I am 3/4 of training. I played 9, 10, lateral and lateral between my 13 years and Espoirs”.
Inevitably, playing this first game with Grenoble, with his training club and the city where he was born, was priceless for Ange. “Couldn’t have asked for better,” he says. “I was very impressed, I had the opportunity to be very well accompanied by the elders. I have memories of great discussions with Lucas Dupont, who had helped me the whole week before and on D-Day. When you’re young and you have a club icon looking out for us, that inevitably resonates. It was reassuring, and it marked me. Hopefully one day I can find myself in this situation to help the younger ones”. And he tells us another anecdote: “My first professional match was against Pau, my first regular match with Toulouse was in Pau. Great memories except the games themselves. I lost them…”
He would like to face his best friend in the 2023 World Cup
Selection with the Italian team for the premiere fois in March 2022, Ange Capuozzo a brillé et lorgne le Mondial 2023. « C’est l’aboutissement pour chaque joueur d’y participaper au moins une fois », souligne-t- Him. His desire is “to do it”, although he does not consider himself “at all an Italian executive”.
2023 is still full of symbols for him: the competition is in France, Italy is in the Blues pool and France-Italy is scheduled for Lyon, near Grenoble, his hometown. “All these signs, it’s a dream.” And he confesses to us: “I pray with all my heart that my best friend, Killian Geraci, with whom I grew up, with whom I was in elementary school, either. If we can do this competition and compete against each other, it can add magic to the event. This World Cup makes me dream.
Did you find this article helpful? Know that you can follow Actu Rugby in space my news . In one click, after registering, you will find all the news from your favorite cities and brands.