Adams, signed by Sheffield United from Ilkeston soon after that cup triumph, is part of the growing Scottish contingent in Italy, with Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour joining Napoli this summer.
Former Celtic midfielder Liam Henderson – who captained Empoli in their 2-1 Coppa Italia win at Torino on Tuesday, in which Adams scored – has played in the country for six years, while Lewis Ferguson is at Bologna and Josh Doig plays for Sassuolo, via Verona.
Torino have made their Scotland international feel at home, though, after five years at Southampton – with Adams’ unveiling video filmed in one of Turin’s Irish bars – and he is taking Italian lessons.
“It’s scary. It’s real-life stuff, especially if you have little kids. You have little doubts if you’ve taken the right decision, if it’s the best for the family,” says the 28-year-old, with his family dividing their time between England and Italy.
“It was really hard – just changing our whole lives – and leaving is normal for a footballer, but your partner has to pick up all the pieces.
“But it’s wanting to expand my experience, to learn about myself, learn about the different way of life and the football side as well. Everyone knows football is a short career and I don’t want to look back on it when I’m retired and think: ‘Oh, I wish I’d done that or I wish I’d done that’.
“To only have played in England or to play for one club – some people obviously want that in terms of security and stability – but I came up the non-league way, and I’ve always fought my way in and had a different experience.”
Adams confesses he will miss Sunday roast dinners, but has thrown himself into life in Italy – with trips to Lake Como and Milan.
He follows Denis Law as a Scot playing for Torino – while Graeme Souness had four months as manager in 1997 after also leaving Southampton – but why Turin?
“The history of the club speaks the loudest in terms of what happened with the plane crash and how good the team was,” he says, referencing the 1949 Superga air disaster which claimed the lives of the Grande Torino team, who won five titles.
“They want to get back to that standard again and that’s what they really instilled in me, to just turn my head a little bit differently.”
