Poker at Inter in the derby (“I had already scored four goals in the first season with Milan, at Bari, the day my grandfather Riccardo died: he guided me from up there”), as Josè Altafini on March 27, 1960 (Milan-Inter 5-3). The awakening of Valentina Giacinti, 27, striker from Ganz’s gynoecium, the first Rossoneri to break 50 goals in Serie A (53), was sweet: “Altafini sent me an exciting message: good Vale, I’m happy you equaled my record though now you have to play four at Juve ».
Juve leaders with more than 6 on Milan with 5 days to go.
«Oh they are more compact, they have more international experience and in the races that count: it is the old block of the Brescia passed to Juve and the national team. But Altafini’s words motivate me to work harder and improve myself ».
«In the meantime, the championship is not arithmetically closed. We have to secure second place from the threat from Sassuolo: I want to go to Europe ».
Against Inter he even exaggerated.
«I went out on the pitch focused on myself: I wanted to respond to certain criticisms. The first header: not exactly my specialty. Then the penalty. After the third I took off my shirt and stayed in my bra: a spontaneous and angry reaction, but what a liberation. Veronica Boquete approaches and says to me: woe to you if you get a second yellow card! On the fourth goal I said to myself: it’s my day ».
Can you explain Valentina Giacinti’s sense for scoring?
«I was born as an attacker, scoring is an innate instinct. As a child my greatest joy was hitting the vase in the living room: my parents scolded me but I was very happy ».
Milan’s best 9 after Pippo Inzaghi, they say.
«My ideal bomber is Van Basten; the idol as a girl, despite supporting Atalanta from Bergamo, was Vieri. Today they say that I look a little like Morata, a little like Immobile, a little like Inzaghi. I don’t know Pippo but I’d like to meet him ».
“I would ask him why he exulted like that, always angry but with a smile on his lips. And then how did he float on the offside line: who was watching? What points of reference did he have? ».
What points of reference do you have, Valentina?
«My dad, who took me to San Siro for a Milan-Juve when he was 5. And grandmother Valeria, 82 and waiting for the recall of the Covid vaccine: every Sunday in Borgo di Terzo, where she lives, she cooks polenta and stands in front of Sky. If I lost, then, try to console me: Vale, come on, you will win next time … And me: grandma, football doesn’t work like that, we lost three points, not next time! ».
The Football Association has promised you girls professionalism from 2022: how do you imagine it?
«It certainly won’t change my life: I already live as a professional in a club that treats me as such. I hope that the reality of small teams will change: to grow as a league and attract the best foreign talents to Italy, we need to raise the level, all together. The turning point will be mental: we will feel more valued, more on par with the males ».
How important is it that the national team has qualified for Euro 2022?
“Much. The World Cup made us discover, in England we will have to be competitive against the best national teams in Europe. It will be a fundamental step for the development of the whole movement ».
Women’s football has desecrated San Siro with Milan-Juve on 5 October 2020: sin behind closed doors, in full pandemic.
«An enormous emotion, even in empty stands: as I touched the grass of the Meazza, my legs trembled».
Will Ganz’s Milan be able to bridge the gap with Juve?
«With Boquete and Hasegawa in midfield we have great quality. And then there is Fifi Jane from Soweto, a bomb of energy: a hug from her changes your day ».
March 29, 2021 (change March 29, 2021 | 23:11)
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