Young players Francesco Coppola and Brando Bettazzi, both born in Italy to Cuban mothers, have received several call-ups this season for the cup and the league.
14ymedio, Matanzas, Andy Lans, January 12, 2026 — Players Francesco Coppola and Brando Bettazzi, both born in Italy to Cuban mothers, have received several call-ups to Pisa SC’s first team for the Coppa Italia and the current edition of Serie A, the top level of Italian football [soccer].
Pisa SC’s season has not been one for fireworks. After earning a commendable promotion in the previous campaign, the team currently finds itself in the relegation zone this season.
The squad includes well-known veterans such as Colombian international Juan Cuadrado and former Real Madrid player Raúl Albiol. However, a wave of injuries has also allowed head coach Alberto Gilardino, former AC Milan striker and member of Italy’s 2006 World Cup winning team, to add a Cuban flavor to the pitch.
In Francesco Coppola’s case, he comes from a very sports-oriented family. His older brothers, Domenico and Alessandro, have also been involved in football. Francesco played in Juventus’s youth system between 2019 and 2022, arriving from Torino. Nevertheless, it is in Pisa SC’s youth ranks that the now 20-year-old, 6’5″ tall center back has made his greatest progress.
It is in Pisa SC’s youth system where the now 20-year-old, 16’5″-tall center back has made his greatest progress.
In the 2023–2024 season, the young player became indispensable to the Under-19 squad, and in 2024–2025 he was sent on loan to Vis Pesaro of Serie C to gain experience at senior level. He started 35 matches in Italy’s third division and scored three goals, proving he was ready for more demanding professional challenges. Pisa had called him up for several Serie B and Serie A matches before, but his debut in Italy’s top flight did not come until the past week. On January 6, Coppola started and played the full 90 minutes in a 0–3 loss to Como, and on Saturday the 10th he came on at 90+4’ in the 2–2 draw against Udinese. Without a doubt, very important steps in his career.
Meanwhile, Brando Bettazzi is an 18-year-old left-footed attacking midfielder, physically strong, with a mother from Havana. His résumé includes six years in Empoli’s youth system. Later, in 2021, he began with the amateur club Margine Coperta, until in 2023 Pisa signed him for its Under-17 team. From 2024 to the present, he has played 38 matches with his current club’s Under-19 team in Primavera 2, scoring five goals and earning consideration for the first team. Gilardino has not yet given him his Serie A debut. In league play, he has had to watch matches from the bench. However, he was given nine minutes with the senior side on September 25 in the Coppa Italia, in a 0–1 loss to Torino.
Coppola and Bettazzi are eligible to represent the Cuban national team because their mothers were born on Cuban soil, as established by current world football regulations. Cuba, as has been reported, has relaxed its policies on calling up players born abroad to the senior national team. Nevertheless, in the cases of Francesco and Brando, early exposure to top-level football may further fuel their dream of representing their motherland.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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