There's more to Morgan De Sanctis than being simply being Italy's third-choice goalkeeper. As a board member of his country's player association, he is used to leading by example.
A year ago, De Sanctis became the first player in the Italian league to invoke Article 17 of FIFA's player regulations, which allow a player to end his contract after three years with the same club - as long as goes abroad for 12 months.
De Sanctis left Udinese for Spanish side Sevilla.
"After eight years in Udine, I realized it was time for a change, even though Udinese thought otherwise," the 30-year-old De Sanctis said. "Taking advantage of the FIFA rule was the only way out so I used it.
"That's the way it should be for everyone, because Article 17 doesn't necessarily allow you to earn more money, it gives you freedom. Sometimes colleagues find themselves in positions where they're not free to choose, and that's not how it should be."
With Gianluigi Buffon the undisputed starter and Marco Amelia the backup like at the World Cup two years ago, coach Roberto Donadoni had several choices for the mandatory third goalkeeper position.
De Sanctis beat Christian Abbiati and Matteo Sereni for the job. Angelo Peruzzi, the third 'keeper at the World Cup, has since retired.
"I wasn't expecting it, because I didn't play much with Sevilla and Donadoni had only called me up once," said De Sanctis, who has made only two appearances for Italy in 15 call-ups.
"But that's soccer. Two years ago I was the one left out and upset."
At Sevilla, De Sanctis was reduced to a reserve role behind Andres Palop, Spain's third goalkeeper at Euro 2008.
"If I had to do it all over again, I would do the same thing," De Sanctis added. "But I would like to play more, so I'm looking at my options again."
In the meantime, De Sanctis is enjoying the camaraderie in Italy's training camp.
On Wednesday, when a few members of the squad attended the inauguration of Casa Azzurri - the team's promotional centre - De Sanctis was the one who grabbed the microphone and started singing along to the well-known Italian song by Rino Gaetano, "Il cielo e sempre piu blu," the words of which are plastered on the side of Italy's team bus.
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