Talented defender, Elio Capradossi, has opened up on why he decided to change his allegiance from Italy to Uganda.

The Italy based defender's outstanding performance in guiding Uganda Cranes to a 1-0 victory over Botswana in a World Cup qualifier match played at Namboole, has garnered much attention and admiration.

His calmness, composure and intelligence have made many Ugandans fall in love with his style of play.

Capradossi, 28, revealed in a recent interview with FUFA that he was convinced to switch his allegiance by a call from the Uganda National Team head coach, Paul Put.

"I had an opportunity to play for Italy because I was already in the set up having played for the Junior National Teams but never made it to the senior team. Recently, Coach Paul Put called and he told me there is this possibility of playing for Uganda and asked if I would take up the opportunity of being part of this team." he said.

Despite missing out on the opportunity to play for Italian senior national team after being part of the junior national teams, Capradossi says he was excited to join the Uganda national team and make his family proud.

"I was very proud to receive this call. They (family) were very happy especially my father. He is a football fan and my number one fan too. That is why he also came to watch me making my debut for Uganda. So it is very good for me and my family as well."

Born in Kampala with Italian roots, Capradossi's career has seen him play for various clubs in Italy, with recent stints in Serie B clubs before joining Serie C club Lecco.

He has previously played for Spezia, Cagliari, and Bari among other clubs.

A product of Roma youth academy, Capradossi won the 2015-2016 Italian U19 Championship with Roma's U19 team as the squad captain.