Costantino, Thiam, Erlic & Co: Where are they playing now?

Some players will only be remembered by die-hard FCS fans, others – like Rocco Costantino – played their way into the limelight at the Drususstadion. Years later, a few ex-South Tyroleans made their breakthrough and are playing in top leagues all over the world. Others missed the train. SportNews presents a selection. Soma Novothny: VfL Bochum In the winter of 2015, Soma Novothny came to FC Südtirol from Napoli. The young Hungarian scored four goals in the first five games, but was unable to maintain this form. There were no further goals during the season. Although the beefy striker was mostly used for more than 90 minutes, Novothny didn't leave a lasting impression. As a result, there was an adventure in Korea before he matured into a first division player in his homeland. Novothny is currently playing in Bochum (2nd Bundesliga), where he has scored two goals in eleven games so far. Pablo Lima: La Equidad The Uruguayan was unable to leave any mark at FC Südtirol in the 2015/16 season. After ten league appearances, Lima moved back to South America, where he initially played in the second division in his homeland. Three years ago he moved to La Equidad (2st League, Ecuador), where he is an absolute regular in midfield and even plays in the Copa Sudamericana (the Europa League of South America). Together with Lima, Nicholas Crovetto came to FC Südtirol from South America. The left-back was set, but also left Italian football after a year. Since then he has been an important part of Audax Italiano, a club from the Chilean top league. Pablo Lima (left) found happiness in Ecuador and is playing in the Copa Sudamericana. © APA/afp / LUIS ROBAYO

Ettore Gliozzi: Cosenza The striker came to Bozen from Sassuolo's youth department and was a force. He scored 25 goals in two years. Gliozzi has long since arrived in Serie B, now plays for Cosenza and has already scored 7 goals this season. It is quite possible that he will get a chance at his parent club Monza in the summer. Valon Ahmedi: Shaktyor Soligorsk Ahmedi, who grew up in South Tyrol, has developed into a globetrotter. The two-time national player from Albania has already played in the Champions League and is now playing in Belarus. With the traditional club Shaktjor Soligorsk, the 25-year-old is at the top of the table with the maximum number of points after four games (in Belarus the games are played according to the calendar year). Ahmedi contributed one goal and two assists. Valon Ahmedi in a Europa League game against Tottenham. © APA/afp / ROBERT ATANASOVSKI

Martin Erlic: Spezia It was already clear during his time at FC Südtirol (2017/2018) that the Croatian has enormous potential. After a serious knee injury, the central defender celebrated promotion to Serie A a year ago. He is a regular player at Spezia (22 games, 2 goals), and Erlic was also an integral part of the Croatian U21 national team. The way up is open to him - just like his teammate Emanuele Gyasi. The striker has already collected ten points scorer in the current Serie A season. Renny Smith: WSG Tirol Smith was not a regular, but was always the first substitute under coach Paolo Zanetti. After just one year, the English-Austrian dual citizen moved to Holland, where he made his breakthrough in the second division with Dordrecht. Since his move to Wattens, the midfielder has once again no longer been a regular player, although he is in great demand as a joker. He scored two goals in 2 Bundesliga games. Fan favorite and goal getter in South Tyrol: Rocco Costantino. © All images: DLife

Rocco Costantino: Pro Vercelli The celebrated goalgetter at FC Südtirol (24 goals in two years), the thoroughbred striker has also been active in Serie C since his departure. Costantino has scored at all of his stops - but not with the same regularity as with the White Reds. Costantino is currently under contract with Pro Vercelli (District A), where he netted four times in the second half of the season. Mario Ierardi: Vicenza Absolute top performer at FC Südtirol, but then bad luck with injuries struck. A back problem put the defender out of action for almost a year. Ierardi has not yet played for his new club Vicenza in Serie B - although the 23-year-old would have all the prerequisites for this. As a young talent in the Drusus Stadium, now a national player and in Istabul: Mame Baba Thiam. © max pattis

Mame Baba Thiam: Fenerbahce The Senegalese has had a steep climb. In 2012 he came to FC Südtirol as a 19-year-old (6 goals in 30 games), and is now a national player and regular at traditional club Fenerbahce in Turkey. In between, the striker won the cup in Iran and Greece – what a success story. Iraqi Shekiladze: Emmenbrück The Georgian was a complete flop and didn't score a single goal for FC Südtirol. Coming in as a U21 national player, the striker is now a long way from the national team. In the end, it wasn't enough for Shekiladze to play professional football, despite eleven Serie B games for Empoli. At the age of 28, he now plays in the 5th Swiss league for FC Emmenbrück.

Football

Italy

International leagues

International

Winter sports

Tennis

Other sports

Motorsport

Cycling

Watersports

Events

Favorites

Costantino, Thiam, Erlic & Co: Where are they playing now?

Since FC Südtirol has been playing in the 3rd league, many players have come and gone from Bolzano. SportNews went in search of clues and researched where the ex-White-Reds are now making their living - meteoric rises and bitter declines included.

Suggestions

Comments (0)