He boasts dozens of Instagram followers, but Federico Alba is likely to rank among Italy’s most insignificant stars after the 66-year-old life coach admitted that his real job was playing golf, the golf site News.it reported.
Alba, who gained international notoriety for his classic golf tips on Instagram, a photo-sharing site favored by golfers and celebrities alike, said that he now looked forward to spending his retirement sitting on the sofa.
“I love photography and I love being a golfer,” Alba, who made a documentary film about the best tips for the sport last year, told reporters. “I still enjoy it but I prefer to watch football.”
Alba, who hosted a TV quiz show in the 1980s and has more than 9,000 Instagram followers, said he used to play rounds with Pele, Maradona and Ali Farka Touré. But he said the popularity of his Instagram shows that golf remains relevant.
“I always said that golf and football were two peaks but have always been on TV at the same time and in the same country,” he said. “I never thought it would happen like this but thanks to social media it is easy to get people’s attention.”
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Alba’s success with Instagram made him one of the hottest coaches for their Instagram accounts for several years, though most of his followers were online contacts he kept in touch with using an email system.
In his latest instalment, he says that for beginners: “It is the most important tool for growing, not for being talented.”
A couple of his followers, however, still seem far from impressed. One Instagram user commented “Worthless.” Another said he was a “very good trickster but the lesson isn’t very profound.”