Raffaele De Vita was on the bench for Ross County’s first ever national trophy triumph in 2016 – but the Italian entertainer bears no grudges.
The silky winger admits his form just dipped at the wrong time, and manager Jim McIntyre named his as a substitute as County defeated Hibs 2-1 at Hampden – with Alex Schalke’s last-gasp goal being the history-maker.
Michael Gardyne had fired the Staggies in front before Liam Fontaine drew Hibs level just before the break in the 2016 League Cup showpiece.
With the final heading for extra-time, Schalke popped up with the famous, unforgettable, winner.Â
It was a remarkable victory for County, who beat Celtic 3-1 in the semi-final – another tie De Vita watched from the dugout as an unused substitute.
‘I can never have the same emotions as (final scoring star) Alex Schalk’
De Vita – who scored five goals in 39 appearances for County after signing in January 2015 – was thrilled for his team-mates and supporters as the club, but said: “The League Cup win gives me mixed emotions.
“Honestly, I was buzzing for the town and the supporters because I can’t even imagine what it means to such a small community to win a national trophy.
“Not anyone in the planet deserved it more than them – they way the fans follow their team up and down the country, whether in the Championship or Premiership, to go on and win the League Cup is an incredible story.
“But not being involved in the final left a bitter taste. If you are a player, you want to be part of that.
“I can never have the same emotions as Alex Schalk, who scored the winner in the last minute.
“But, overall, for the club I was delighted. Ross County were not a team to always get the headlines.
“To play at Hampden where it was almost all green and white from the Hibs fans, with County having just a little section of supporters, it really was like David against Goliath. It was unbelievable.
“I was happy for the fans and for the players. Although that season was difficult for me, the group of players the manager put together were brilliant.
“There were just genuine, honest guys that wanted to do well. There were no big heads or primadonnas in the team. They really, really deserved it.”
De Vita feels no ill-will towards McIntyre for not selecting him, adding:
“I have no hard feelings against the manager. Â I didn’t feel I was in good form at all during that period.
“(And) for the (semi-final win) against Celtic, and the final against Hibs, the way the manager set up the team meant the wingers had to pay the price.
“And, if I remember right, Michael Gardyne had to play wing-back.
“He’s a little machine. He just runs everywhere for 90 minutes – it’s maybe something that I couldn’t do. It’s a really difficult role to adapt in a wing-back position.
“But the club and the players were amazing to go on and win the trophy against Hibs.
“Those were incredible memories.”
Lucky link led De Vita to Dingwall after trial spell with St Mirren
Ex-Blackburn youth player De Vita, who arrived in England as a teenager from Rome in 2004, joined County after leaving Cheltenham in 2015.
De Vita, who also played for Bradford City and Livingston, revealed how he could quite easily have become a player for Ross County’s relegation rivals St Mirren that winter.
The Buddies – who ended up bottom of the league come May – ran the rule over the Italian, but indecision and a lucky link led him to Dingwall instead.
He said: “My move to Ross County almost happened by accident and that actually happens quite often in football.
“I was on trial with St Mirren, whose manager Gary Teale wanted to have a look at me, as well as several other players.
“Like County, they were struggling a bit at that time, but they were taking their time and changing a lot of players, assessing the options.
“But I was in a rush to sign somewhere and start playing football again. I was getting frustrated that St Mirren were taking their time.
“At that time, my agent had another player, Marcus Fraser, who was at Ross County, having just signed from Celtic.
“My agent then spoke to Jim McIntyre, who agreed to have a look at me. We drove up from Glasgow.
“I didn’t really think I did particularly well in those two or three training sessions, but Jim McIntyre told me he wanted to sign me.
“I didn’t think twice. I didn’t look at figures or anything – I just wanted to sign.
“There was a good feeling about the changing room and the place. It was all very quick and not planned at all, but worked out well in the end.”
Aberdeen rout opened the door for De Vita to make his Staggies’ bow
Red tape ruled De Vita out from making his debut away to Aberdeen.
Installed in the side following a Pittodrie rout, County kicked away from the danger-zone to finish ninth that season. Â
He said: “Signing for Ross County was, for me, a brilliant experience, yet I never thought it would run out the way it did.
“When I signed, it was a difficult time, I think, for the team at that particular time.
“The club was healthy, and in the SPL, so everyone obviously was very enthusiastic about it. But the league position wasn’t good.
“Everyone thought we were destined to get relegated to the Championship.
“I was coming to County from a club in England where things weren’t going well, so I needed a break.
“Ross County proved to be perfect for me. I joined at the end of January in the last few days of the transfer window.
“The team were just about to play Aberdeen. And, in football, there are moments where if things go one way, it can change everything.
“And the lucky thing for me was actually that that weekend, I wasn’t registered in time to play in the team, but the manager kept me on the bench because he didn’t know whether the papers were through.
“We ended up getting thumped 4-0 by a really good Aberdeen side and it meant the following week the manager made five or six changes for the match against Motherwell.
“Had I played against Aberdeen, I could have been one of those who lost their place in the team.”
Volleyed goal on Ross County debut
De Vita scored on his Staggies bow, saying: “It meant I made my debut against Motherwell, and I scored in a 3-2 win. It was the perfect debut for me and the team.
“From that point, the manager found that his team was really settled for the next few months. There were maybe one or two changes here and there, but we were a team he was happy with and could rely on.
“We went on that long run where we didn’t lose many games. And, eventually, we stayed up with a few games to go, which was unbelievable.
“Ross County are a club that I really admire for the way they do things. And they manage to always keep their heads and see the positive aspects of a season, even when things are not going well. They are very different in that respect.”
De Vita: ‘Not many better places in the world’
The pros far outweighed the cons for De Vita in the north of Scotland and, more than a decade on, he retains such fond memories of a club with a “family feeling”.
He said: “I loved it, honestly. Not just, obviously, when things are going well, it’s easy to say that you love your time at a place, but everything about it.
“I think I only realise now how lucky I am to not only play for Ross County, but also to have lived in the Highlands – it’s a place where maybe people from the Highlands don’t realise how much people from different countries are fascinated by the area.
“It’s a difficult place to live for a long time because of the weather – I’m not used to it.
“However, as a place to visit and spent time for a few weeks there are not many better places in the world.
“On top of that, it was so good to play in the SPL at such good stadiums with some great atmospheres. I remain really grateful for that.
“At the time you maybe don’t enjoy it as much because there is the pressure to win games and not get relegated. All the games seemed to pass really quickly.
“You don’t stop to think about looking back, but being at Ross County was one of the best experiences that football gave me.”
Still playing and training daily at 3pm – and teaching English to students
De Vita, 37, is still pulling on the boots, playing for fifth-tier Italian club Anagni, an hour from Rome.
But he revealed he’s developing a new career in the classroom, too.
He explained: “Surprisingly, I still play and it’s semi-pro. It is not like it is in Scotland where, in part-time football, you might train twice a week in League One or League Two – here, in Italy, you still train every afternoon at 3pm, so you really only have the morning to do other things, but you still have to life your life as a professional.
“Because I am older now, I started to think about other things and, I don’t know how, but I am now teaching English as a second language.
“It’s just something that I wanted to do. I wanted to make good use of what the UK gave me.
“It’s the language I started with no knowledge of – I could barely ask a question in English and I’ve kind of managed to learn a new language.”
‘I’ll see how long my legs can keep going, I don’t think I’ve a lot longer, but I’ll try my best’
“I’m kind of still battling with that transition from football to something else. But teaching gives me something else to think about and not be too scared of the future because it’s a tough period when you stop playing football and you realise that you don’t know anything else.
“We have middle school here between elementary school and high school. We prepare the kids for Cambridge exams, which they need for then high school and university.
“So, it’s like extra courses that the school offers to the students.
“English is not like back in the day – you need English for everything.
“I will see whether football coaching also becomes part of my life. I think I would like to give it a go, but at the moment I’m still enjoying playing.
“I’ll see how long my legs can keep going – I don’t think I’ve got a lot longer, but I’ll try my best.”
More Ross County Cult Heroes…
- 155-goal star Brian Grant on Staggies stepping into SFL and why a winner against Keith topped them all
- Kenny Gilbert on playing on with sight in one eye for his ‘hero’ Neale Cooper
- Steven McGarry on Australian success – and nearly joining Caley Thistle
- Billy Ferries on three-stint Staggies career – and defying managers’ instructions to thrill fans
- Karim Boukraa on how Lubomir Moravcik and Eric Black helped set up ‘amazing’ 18-month spell in Dingwall
- Neil Tarrant on his big-money Aston Villa move after scoring for fun in the Highlands
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