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00:00 Hi Laura, welcome and thank you for being here today.
00:04 You decided to close your football career here in Milan.
00:09 How are you living this moment?
00:11 I don't think I've fully realized it yet.
00:15 I've been thinking about it for a while and these six years in Milan have been important, for better or for worse.
00:23 If I had to think about a future that wasn't in Milan, it would be even harder for me to decide to stop playing football.
00:34 On the one hand, I'm sorry because I've been playing football for so many years, but I'm calm and relaxed about my decision.
00:45 You recently posted a video on Instagram where you said "it's time to accept that the day I hoped for the most is here".
00:53 Was it a tough decision?
00:55 I've been thinking about this dream for a while now, because it's always been a dream for me.
01:05 I had to finish it, and I'm sure that women's football has improved a lot, both in terms of intensity and physicality.
01:16 I'm sure that starting to have a few more years would have made a difference.
01:22 It's been a tough decision, because I've been playing football for 33 years.
01:30 If it were up to me, I would have gone on forever, but my legs, my physicality and what will come next are the most important things.
01:41 This day is coming, and you have to think about what to do next.
01:46 You said that you've seen Italian women's football grow a lot over the years.
01:55 What do you see in this growth?
02:00 I've been playing football for many years, and I think about my beginnings in a women's team.
02:07 It's been almost 20 years, and it's changed a lot. We were very few, and no one followed us.
02:16 We did it out of passion, because we liked it, even though we weren't followed.
02:22 Since then, it has changed a lot, because men's clubs have become interested in it.
02:29 They have believed in women's football, and they have given us this opportunity.
02:34 I work now, and I can say that I'm a footballer.
02:39 20 years ago, everyone laughed at me, but I probably laughed too.
02:44 It was a utopia, so it has changed a lot.
02:48 Young footballers are prepared to the best, following the style of the men's team.
02:57 It's a totally different approach.
03:01 You played your last home game against Sampdoria.
03:07 It was a great way to end the season, but it was a very intense day. How did you feel?
03:14 It was the best gift I could have received.
03:21 I have to tell you the truth. I was a little nervous, because I wanted to play well and end the season in a good way.
03:32 On the one hand, I was disappointed, because I was thinking, "What will happen?"
03:38 But one thing is certain, when I entered the pitch, I only thought about playing.
03:46 I had fun, and that's the secret of why I always played football.
03:53 When I entered the pitch, I only thought about the ball, my teammates and nothing else.
03:59 You were full of affection with your teammates, and you received the award before the first whistle.
04:08 Did you feel a lot of affection?
04:12 Yes, a lot. I didn't expect it.
04:20 I don't have an easy character, but I think that football gave me the best of me.
04:33 I always tried to involve all my teammates, to be helpful in good and bad.
04:41 I hoped there was all this affection, but the reality is that there was a lot more.
04:50 It was really nice.
04:52 The award was beautiful, because President Scarroni came to give me this award.
05:02 It was very important.
05:04 It was supposed to be a sad day, but if I have to remember, it was beautiful.
05:08 It was a party, and that's how I wanted it to be.
05:12 My teammates were great, but from the week before, when they heard about it,
05:19 I realized that I had done something good.
05:25 Beyond your expectations.
05:27 Yes, beyond my expectations.
05:29 If I had to ask someone who has known me for a long time,
05:36 I would say that I have to give them a compliment.
05:40 But it's a bit difficult.
05:43 But football has always tried to give the best of me.
05:48 You played six seasons, 135 appearances, you saw Milan Femini born,
05:54 you were the first player to reach 100 appearances in the Red-Black.
05:58 Even now, with the age of six, what relationship do you feel you have with this club?
06:04 I remember the first sentence I heard when I came here to Casa Milan.
06:10 I was told "Milan is like a family".
06:13 That sentence made me understand that it was the right team,
06:19 where I wanted to be, and for which I would have wanted to fight.
06:24 Six years have passed, and if it's been six years,
06:29 it means that I have always believed in that sentence, in Milan, in my teammates.
06:36 For me, Milan is a second family.
06:40 In fact, the thing I would be most sorry about is not staying at Milan,
06:46 because I can't see myself in a team that wasn't Red-Black.
06:54 So, after six years, I confirm the sentence I heard for the first time,
07:01 that Milan is like a family.
07:03 Do you have a particular moment that you know you will always remember,
07:07 that will always stay with you, of these seasons at Milan?
07:10 Surely there are many moments.
07:13 It could be the final of the Coppa Italia,
07:17 even if unfortunately we lost it to the penalties.
07:20 But I think that one of the most beautiful moments was the qualification to the Champions League,
07:26 the match against Sassuolo,
07:29 and then the derby, the first derby we won,
07:35 which we won at home, at Inter, by the way.
07:40 It was great, and I think that for a Milanese,
07:44 the derby wins are the most beautiful thing,
07:47 so that will be the same for me.
07:50 You have another thing that connects you to this club,
07:53 because you always wore a pretty heavy shirt,
07:56 that really shows off Milanism.
07:58 We are talking about the number 6 shirt of Baresi,
08:00 a shirt you chose consciously when you arrived at this club.
08:04 I always had the number 6, since I was a child.
08:09 And when I arrived in Milan, I was asked,
08:12 "What shirt would you like?"
08:14 And I said, "The number 6."
08:16 But as soon as I sent the message, I said,
08:19 "Wait, Laura, are you sure about what you did?"
08:22 "Remember that the number 6 is Franco Baresi's, the shirt was withdrawn."
08:27 "If you feel sorry for the first game, you are ruined."
08:31 But I said, "No."
08:33 In the sense that it could also be a reason to improve
08:38 and honour even more the shirt I wear.
08:42 Franco Baresi allowed all of this to happen.
08:46 And from that day on, it was beautiful for me to wear that shirt.
08:50 On the other hand, I knew I had to have a certain behavior,
08:55 on the pitch and off the pitch,
08:57 because Franco Baresi was a great captain of Milan,
09:00 but above all he is a great person, a great man.
09:04 So, as they always tell us,
09:07 you wear the Milan shirt both on and off the pitch.
09:10 So, absolutely, I have tried in recent years
09:13 to wear this shirt with respect,
09:16 trying to honour it every minute I played.
09:21 Surely, Franco Baresi is Franco Baresi and will remain.
09:25 But just the fact that no one complained,
09:29 because I tried to give my best,
09:34 and I think it was seen, is important to me.
09:37 So I am very honoured to have had this privilege.
09:42 This shirt will have a history that will go beyond the six of Fusetti
09:47 and will be the six of Sorelli.
09:49 You yourself made this official passage
09:53 in the last game against Sampdoria.
09:56 So this shirt will be worn by Nadine Sorelli,
09:59 who will be the captain of the first team in the spring.
10:02 Tell us what moment it was and how you experience this,
10:07 knowing what will happen in the future.
10:09 It was a beautiful moment,
10:12 because I was lucky enough to meet Nadine on the pitch,
10:17 because she trained with us often.
10:20 I can say that there was no better player,
10:23 in the sense that she is somehow close to me,
10:29 she is a respectful, hard-working woman,
10:32 who always gives her best.
10:34 She was also seen in the final games,
10:39 in the Final Four, where they won the championship.
10:43 I wish her a lot of satisfaction,
10:46 because she deserves it,
10:49 she will have to prove it,
10:51 but I'm sure she will do it very well.
10:54 We talked about Nadine,
10:56 we opened the parenthesis on the spring,
10:59 and now let's talk about your future,
11:01 because you will be the team manager of the women's spring,
11:05 a new champion of Italy.
11:07 What effect does it have on you?
11:09 It's very beautiful, it's a very nice stimulus for me.
11:13 It will be difficult, because it's something new,
11:16 but I hope to convey everything that football has been for me
11:22 to the young people of the spring,
11:25 who have already shown that they want to fight,
11:30 to get rid of a lot of satisfaction.
11:32 I would like to start a path with them,
11:35 to grow with them, because it is a new role.
11:39 For this reason, I have been doing courses for a few years,
11:44 I did a course as a team manager,
11:46 and now I am doing that as a sports director.
11:49 I did not hope to receive this opportunity from Milan,
11:54 which I will never stop thanking.
11:57 Being able to stay in football and stay at Milan
12:03 is the best thing that could happen to me,
12:08 according to what I thought I would have to face later.
12:14 You said that you are already getting closer to the role you will play,
12:19 that you are already studying in depth for the role you will play.
12:24 Is there something in particular that fascinates you in the opportunity
12:28 or in what will be your future as a team manager?
12:32 It's a new role, so it motivates you,
12:37 it charges you, because you have to learn to do something
12:40 that does not come automatically.
12:43 The thing that fascinates me the most is being able to help the girls,
12:50 the young players, who sooner or later will have to face
12:54 everything that I have experienced.
12:57 So, being able to help them,
13:00 maybe giving them some advice is certainly very important.
13:05 The role of the team manager is a bit of a sticky role,
13:09 between the players and the club.
13:13 I think that my experience as a dressing room and as a footballer
13:19 can help to find easier and more readable reading keys
13:27 to manage the job better.
13:31 In terms of values, do you already have an idea of what you want to convey
13:37 to the girls of 19 years old, who are already very close to professionalism,
13:44 but are also in a fundamental age for growth?
13:47 They are already very close to professionalism,
13:52 but they still have to grow a lot and above all they have difficulties
13:59 that you don't think about.
14:03 Certainly, helping them to get out of the problems that one is ashamed of,
14:09 can be the key to reading.
14:12 On the other hand, I have always played knowing that it was not my job,
14:22 but I have always done it as if it were.
14:25 Certainly, sacrifice and determination are at the base,
14:29 but on the other hand, if you do something without passion,
14:33 it will never be good for you.
14:35 So, always put your heart into it and above all,
14:39 despite being close to professionalism and therefore to a job,
14:43 to play football and always have fun.
14:46 As a last thing, I ask you, what feelings do you feel if you think about your future now?
14:53 I don't know, because in these days I go at times.
14:58 On the one hand, I am "electrified", because it is something new
15:03 and I can't wait to start it.
15:06 I say, I want to do this, I want to do that.
15:10 On the other hand, I say, I have always played football
15:18 and many times one says, yes, but I don't tell you that there is that fear,
15:25 because absolutely not, but it's a bit like you're always going around with the ball in your arm.
15:31 Without, I don't know, you have to go on,
15:37 I am absolutely happy to be able to do it here,
15:40 but I don't know, the kick will come, in my opinion.
15:46 I don't know when, but it will come.
15:49 But really, if I think about Saturday, it was a beautiful party
15:55 that will immediately pass the sadness and melancholy,
15:59 because then it's more than 20 years that I play football
16:04 and getting to this decision was tough.
16:11 Thank you Laura, and good luck for the future.
16:14 Creepy, and thank you very much.
16:16 [BOOM]