 | | Simone Perrotta |
Tony Cocca came to the UK from Italy in 1952 and got to know the Perrotta family in the early 60’s, when he acted as a translator for the newly arrived family. Over time, he became close friends with Franco, Simone’s father, and Giovanni, his uncle, and their friendship is as strong today as it was then. Being Italian, football was very important to them, and in 1967, the trio formed Manchester’s first ever Italian side, Jolly Milan, based out of the Jolly Carter pub in Hyde. As a young child, Simone would come to the games, his love of football blossoming on the touchlines of the Hyde and District Sunday League.
 | | Tony Cocca |
"He’d come with his father to see us play, especially at weekends. I remember when I used to fetch Franco, his wife would say ‘oh hello, it’s Tony, so it must be football.’ If she asked for a job to be done in the home, it would be delayed because football had to come first. So there’s no wonder that Simone grew up loving the game. He didn’t have much of a choice!" Tony hasn’t managed to meet up with Simone for some years, but he’s in close contact with his family.
 | | The Jolly Carter, Hyde (pic: Gerald England) |
"I’ve stayed in touch with Franco and kept up with Simone’s progress, which is real Roy Of The Rovers stuff. I watched him in the semi-final and I can hardly believe that skinny little lad that I used to go and see has become this brilliant player!” "His uncle rings me up all the time and I go over there to see him and Simone’s father. I’m due to go over to Italy in the next couple of weeks and I’ll try and see the, hopefully, World Cup winner."
 | | Jolly Milan in 1972 |
He won’t be the only one trying to meet Simone. According to Tony, the whole of the Perrotta’s home village has been besieged by journalists, well-wishers and autograph hunters. "It’s a very quiet place and they have a football team, where Simone started, but they’re not used to things of this size. It’s got to the point that Franco has had to move out to a house in the country and Simone has to visit at night, so that he doesn’t get mobbed! | "I can hardly believe that skinny little lad that I used to go and see has become this brilliant player!" | | Tony's astonishment and pride at Simone's progress is obvious |
"Franco was just pestered all the time. He couldn’t go out of the house without someone asking when Simone would be back or would he get his son to sign a shirt for them. "But you’ve got to remember this is really far south, where nothing really happens, where there’s nothing really to talk about and every day is the same, and then suddenly, they’ve got a World Cup star!"
 | | Cosenza, Simone's home city |
Tony is having a family reunion in Hyde where they’ll be watching the World Cup final, but he’s going to ask Giovanni and Franco to pass on his best wishes to Simone. "I was going to ring him after the semi-final but decided that like us, he’d be celebrating late into the night. But I’ll ring him before the game and then hopefully, we’ll have a World Cup winner to talk about on Sunday!" | 
