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It is more than 20 years since Maurizio Micheli first scouted Marek Hamsik, but the pair remain in touch today.

Hamsik credits Micheli with being the driving force behind his move from Slovakian side Slovan Bratislava to Brescia in 2004.

The midfielder went on to enjoy a glittering career in Italy - coincidentally, like Micheli, making his name at Napoli - and he has never forgotten how that journey began.

“I owe him a lot,” Hamsik said in 2022. “He is the one who brought me to Italy for the first time.”

Micheli discovered Marek Hamsik, who went on to become a Napoli legen

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