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It's called via Giolitti but it might as well
be called Coco
Street. Nerazzurri wing-back Francesco Coco has literally taken over
the road in the centre of Legnano
(a town to the north-west of
Milan ), with three shops and a bar, all rigorously `urban style'.
Your life is here
in Legnano. Why have you decided never to leave?
I'm very attached to this place because I went to school here. I
know
practically everyone and everyone knows me. I have a different
rapport with the people from the one I have outside of Legnano.
Everyone
has known me since I was a boy and so they see me in a
different way - not as a footballer and this is the most important
thing.
I've also set up home in this road where I have the shops.
Legnano is my base. It's the place where I feel at ease and
I'm
pleased to remain here.
You've opened three shops [two Urbanstreets and
Urbanlab]. Any plans
for more?
I'll soon be opening another one dedicated to children's clothing,
and
by July there will be five with the bar. A year and a half ago I
opened one in Catania, where I was born, and then in Lodi,
a city
I'm fairly attached to because I studied there for three years. And
then there are various other projects. A
lot of are just in my head
and I don't think all of them are feasible, but the willingness is
there.
For one reason or another you've chosen places you're attached to.
Why?
Yes, of
course. Legnano because I grew up there. Lodi because as an
adolescent I spent time there. Catania because I was born there
and
I lived there when I was very young. In the future I'll try and open
a shop in Barcelona because it represented
a very important and
wonderful experience for me. And also in Miami, the city of my
dreams.
When did you start out on your
entrepreneurial career and which was
the first shop you opened?
"The first was Urbanstreet in Legnano. It was opened
four and a half
years ago. At the beginning it was a one-brand shop because my
technical sponsor wanted to open sales
points all over Italy, but I
realised over time that it wasn't very feasible so after six months
I changed to try and
go my own way and choose what I liked."
-Do you personally choose the items in your shops?
"I
alw ays try to do so but sometimes it's not possible because of
my commitments. There are three or four very experimental
brands in
Urbanlab. I discover them through acquaintances. Also, to do this
job you have to go around and look and learn.
In any place or city I
visit I look at other shops to try and learn something or steal some
ideas."
-So can we say you have a passion for fashion?
"It all started by chance because
I don't really follow fashion that
much. I don't go and buy branded things to follow a certan trend,
this doesn't interest
me. I like unusual things because I prefer to
be different rather than wear an article because it has an important
label.
I choose things I feel comfortable in and so I decided to
start this business by chance. Then, when I realised I liked
it and
that it was going well, I decided to develop it."
-Is the bar different
or is it related in some way to the clothes
shops?
"It's related because there's the s ame logo inside.
It's part of
Urban. The bar came after the first two Urbanstreet shops. It was
located between the two shops and it
was available. It seemed
perfect to me."
-You
were born in '77. It's also your shirt number and you have a
tattoo of this number on your right arm...
"77
represents my date of birth. It's a number I feel quite attached
to because I've always had 77 as my shirt number. It's
part of
something I have achieved in life. But this other tattoo is the most
special one I have [Coco points to his
right biceps]. It means
mother, father, sister and the symbol of love. Itâs my family, the
three most important people
in my life."
-Which players follow your alternative style?
"Sergio Conceiçao, Domenico
Morfeo and Marco Materazzi have come to
my shops several times. Every time I walk into the changing room
they all look
at me a bit surprised because maybe I'm wearing
unusual clothes, so they ask me 'where did you get it, where didn't
you
get it' now that they know I have shops and sell clothes, and
sometimes they come and visit me. And this has also helped
me to
build friendships because I've had the chance to see my team-mates
outside of the working environment as well."
-You're famous for often being in the company of beautiful women.
Your relationship with top model
Giselle Bundchen caused a
sensation. Does your liking of unusual things also reflect on your
sentimental choices?
"A
lot was said about this relationship with Giselle and that's
normal. She was top... it was something that I didn't even
understand
[he laughs]⦠she did everything and decided everything.
It was something that continued then became a very good friendship,
and
I'm really pleased about this because we still hear from each
other even though she's on the other side of the world. So
I don't
consider her as an affair or a relationship, but as a stunning, nice
girl who I'm still friends with."
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