Cristiana Girelli

“["Your first memory of your mother?"] I'm six years old, I finish catechism class, I go downstairs and find her in front of the door of the oratory. She never came to pick me up; my house was only 50 meters away. "Damn, I think I did something wrong," I say to myself. She looks at me and claps her hands: "Come on, hurry up, let's go get my sports bag. Your game is coming up soon." It was my first official outing with the Nuvolera men's team.”

“As a child I was the only one in the province of Brescia to play soccer. I always played with boys, I was the captain. I've always had great respect from them, sometimes they still write to me now complimenting me. I always felt free to do what I wanted and this was my great luck. I've always wanted to play soccer. When I got home I couldn't wait to go train. When I was 14 years old, a Verona executive called me, I told my parents that I didn't want to go play with the girls. They were the ones who told me that the train only passed once.”

“There has been a change in the vision and recognition … all this clearly brings more responsibility.”

“Being captain is an honor and a pride … I see it as a recognition from my teammates … That’s what makes me proud.”

“Football has been my great passion since I was little, and I never had doubts about what I would do when I grew up.”

“I would never have imagined playing for Juventus; I had a poster of Del Piero in my room, and today to that little girl inside me I would say: dream, sooner or later it comes true.”

“The real victory is in making proud those who have always believed in you, and especially having people who rejoice with you for your successes.”