AC Milan striker and team captain Valetina Giacinti gave a long and very interesting interview to the Gazzetta dello Sport weekly supplement “SportWeek”, in which Vale spoke about various her carrer, reaching the 50 goals milestone for Milan, a simple request from AC Milan CEO Ivan Gazidis and her future after hanging the boots.
Here are her words:
On Altafini’s words:
“Jose (Altafini) was really nice, he sent me a lovely message complimenting me and asking me to score 4 goals against Juve too. I admire him. I didn’t even know about this record; I don’t mind the stats. I knew I had scored 50 goals for AC Milan, and that’s it.”
On THAT goal’s celebration, when she took off her shirt:
“It was a liberating gesture, you know? I’m like that, sometimes I get carried away, maybe a little too much. I was shown the yellow card for that and then Vero Boquete said, ‘Don’t do any more stupid things.’. Then I calmed down and thought to keep going, keep scoring”
On the compliments she received after the game, and the atmosphere at Milan:
“I received praises from Bobo Vieri, who is my idol. But the most important flaterry are those from my team mates, obviously. Goals always come from the team work. And the guys of the Men’s team are also very close to us. I often chat with Rafael Leao, Romagnoli, Kalulu, Calabria. We’re a family here. The club care about and values the women’s team, our CEO (Ivan) Gazidis, technical director (Paolo) Maldini and Sporting Director (Ricky) Massara often come to the games. Franco Baresi also follows us often and Gazidis says he wants 20 goals per season from me, so it’s another motivation.”
On the important positions occupied by women, like Gama and Vezzali:
A necessary step, but as long as we continue to think that it is something extraordinary it will mean that we arestill behind. Having women or men in command posts should be normal.”
On a woman’s life in such a biased world like football :
“I do read comments and other stuffs on social media when we post something about our matches. I don’t see any more phrases like ‘Go home!’ or ‘Go back to the kitchen!’. The fans are closer to us in general, to what we do. Sure, there are always trolls, but those aim to destroy other people’s lives because perhaps they don’t have much to do with their lives after all. Better not deal with this kind.”
On choosing football as her career:
“I had the passion in me. The world will not change as long as we don’t change the old mindset that we make the blue bow for the boys and for the girls, there are only pink things and dolls. Maybe the girls might like green, and I speak for experience. What was I doing with the dolls? I took their heads and used them as balls. At some point my parents and relatives realized that perhaps it was better to stop giving me dolls.”
On Maurizio Ganz:
“He played a pivotal role in my maturation process. I listen to every coach, I’m used to it, because everyone can give you something. you can learn something from everyone.”
On the goals for this season:
“I think beating Juve this season is tough, it’s a though team, they’re a group that have been working together for years. We are looking for balance and we have grown a lot at Milan. Qualifying for the Champions League would be great, a historic achievement. In the national team I would like to fell again the affection we received during the World Cup, but doing good at the Euros will be hard, there are no easy matches. For starters I hope we return to normal and have fans at the stadium a soon as possible. A small thing to make us more at ease, more comfortable, more serene.”
On how the coronavirus pandemic affected her life:
“It was very hard at the beginning, since I come from Bergamo. It’s a little better now. I Learned to appreciate things I wouldn’t have liked as much before, like chatting with my that for half an hour on the phone, for example. We footballers are privileged, we can do what we love. Talking to others about our daily routine lightens up the mood, gives comfort. Freedom to do whatever we want is the most important thing.”
On her spare time:
“When I could go out with my friends. I liked to go to the arcade and play basketball. The repetitive gesture of it relaxes me.”
On her favorite movie:
“Life is beautiful” (La vita è bella).
On her day:
“During the day I laugh and smile, then in the evening I become melancholic, a bit sad, it is the moment when you think about yourself and what happens in the world right now”.
On her future after football:
“Sometimes I think I would like to stay in the game, because it’s truly my passion. Other times I see myself in a bar, making cocktails or cappuccinos, partying, having a good time. Ah, there’s karaoke, too. I really like it, a lot.”
