Meet Valentino Russo, the tattoo artist who inked Politano and Spalletti

Valentino Russo has tattooed more than 200 footballers, but his first Serie A client wore Napoli blue. In a new interview, the man known as "the footballers' tattoo artist" traces a career that began, he says, entirely with Matteo Politano.

Among the names who have since sat under his needle is Luciano Spalletti, for whom Russo tattooed Napoli's crest — a special case, since the head coach had never had a tattoo before. "Tattooing him felt different to tattooing the players, because he's a coach and he's older than the lads who usually come in. And he had no tattoos at all — it was his first ever," Russo explained. He also described Spalletti as "very special as a person too — he watches you, studies you, he's a great observer."

Russo calls himself a Napoli fan, but "not a fanatic" — more "for the sport". He's blunt about mixing football allegiance with his trade.

If a club calls him because they want him there, I think it's right he goes — it's his job, and the job has to be respected. It would be like someone calling me to tattoo a Juventus player and me saying no because I support Napoli.

The mechanism that has taken him past 200 tattooed footballers, he says, feeds itself: "If I tattoo one footballer, he brings me three more. Then he changes club and two more come." Among his most frequent clients he named Di Lorenzo, Donnarumma, Cuti Romero and Fabio Silva, relationships that have become close to friendships: "By now we're friends, so it's almost like there's a set date — every month or two I go to see them, to tattoo them but also just to spend time together."

Asked about the most requested designs, Russo had no doubts: "Definitely lions and tigers. Everyone likes them, and they've been huge in recent years." The copycat effect, he added, usually starts on the pitch — when one player shows off a striking tattoo, others take inspiration from it.