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00:00 [Music]
00:05 Good morning Elisabeth Spina, head of AC Milan Women.
00:09 You've been the pride of AC Milan Women for years,
00:13 but we like to get to know you a little better,
00:15 so we know a little bit about you,
00:17 also for our fans, but I want to start from afar.
00:20 I ask you, what was Elisabeth Spina like as a child?
00:23 Well, certainly when I look at my first photos,
00:27 there's always a ball next to me.
00:29 I was a passionate girl, passionate about life, about football,
00:34 curious to travel.
00:37 Swedish mother, this certainly conditioned culturally
00:41 my approach to football.
00:43 My family always supported me and made it so that
00:47 for me, playing football was something extremely natural.
00:51 You grew up in Italy, right?
00:53 I was born in Italy, I grew up in Italy,
00:55 but I have 50% of Swedish blood,
00:59 and I don't deny that it conditioned me,
01:03 but culturally there are some facets that are enriched.
01:07 Did you already have sportsmen in your family or were you there...
01:10 No, your brother definitely, but mom and dad, or behind?
01:13 No, actually no, father passionate about football,
01:16 then I grew up with my brother, who is younger than me,
01:20 but with whom we shared the passion.
01:23 He was also able to be a professional footballer,
01:27 he played in Serie B and many years in the League Pro.
01:31 Do you remember what was your first childhood dream?
01:34 My dream was to become the best player in the world,
01:38 so I understand that it couldn't be like that,
01:42 it wasn't like that, also for the instruments
01:45 that were available at that time,
01:48 but it's a dream that has always given me the strength
01:52 to fight for something bigger than what I could imagine.
01:59 Elisabeth, let's start from the beginning,
02:02 but as a player, if you remember the first years on the pitch,
02:05 I imagine you were a bit spoiled by the countries, right?
02:08 My family gave me the opportunity to take part
02:11 in a boys' football school,
02:14 the great welcome, a little perplexity and curiosity at times,
02:19 but which were overcome over time.
02:24 I was lucky not to have encountered great difficulties
02:30 and this probably made me want to always experiment
02:39 with something new and to bring a somewhat innovative vision
02:43 compared to the past.
02:45 Then we will also talk about the evolutions of families,
02:48 of the approach to young footballers in the world of football,
02:51 but a curiosity in the middle.
02:53 Did you have the vision, that is, playing,
02:55 did you really dream that you would get to this level so quickly
02:58 or did you play like all the children,
03:00 thinking about the fun of running the ball
03:03 or did you already have the vision of what could happen in an almost mystical way?
03:08 For my generation, the imitative model was the male one,
03:12 so we dreamed one day of having the same opportunities
03:17 and you projected yourself forward as if those opportunities could be there.
03:23 They were more the adults, which is probably something that
03:27 is objectively changed at this moment,
03:29 because for the family that accompanies the little girl to the playground
03:35 to pursue their passion, today this then becomes also an opportunity,
03:39 a job opportunity, an opportunity to invest for the future.
03:45 At that time it was not like that, but in our heads,
03:51 in the heads of those who played, there were the same emotions,
03:56 the same hopes of those who play today.
03:59 Then I must say that over time I realized the difficulties I encountered
04:06 and the fact that sacrifices were not always repaid,
04:12 so I also paid great attention to thinking about my future
04:17 and about the safeguards through a study path.
04:21 Talent recognizes talent and Elisabeth Spina, a footballer, was a technical player.
04:26 Can we then tell you about yourself?
04:29 This is how others describe me, I recognize myself with this,
04:33 I was a technical player and I have a great regret that is that
04:40 I did not have the opportunity to put myself at 100%,
04:44 so I know well the characteristics of the player I was,
04:47 but I don't know the player I could have been.
04:50 Being a player and having also done this path,
04:53 then we will analyze it in the various steps,
04:55 and being in this role gives you advantages,
04:58 in the sense that you know what a player needs.
05:00 I believe that it helps in the role I have today to have a vision as broad as possible.
05:08 I know the thoughts of the players,
05:12 sometimes remembering mine,
05:14 and so maybe this can help me to intervene to support them,
05:19 rather than to resume them, rather than to understand their moments too.
05:24 I must say that they pay great attention,
05:29 in addition to the professional path, also to the personal growth path,
05:33 so this is something I must take into account.
05:39 Knowledge that also goes through the transfer of UEFA coach,
05:46 with the most votes, the first woman in Italy, right?
05:49 If I'm not mistaken, so you will remain in history, right?
05:51 It's a nice thing.
05:53 Tell us about this path, this new life of yours,
05:56 which was a piece of the puzzle that helped you to be who you are.
06:01 I thought about studying, about taking care of myself,
06:05 and about starting as soon as possible a professional career in football.
06:11 At the age of about 23, while I was playing,
06:14 I started training in a football school for boys.
06:19 So much so that when I arrived in Milan in the 2018-2019 season,
06:25 my initial job was mainly for the...
06:30 I was responsible for the school and the training,
06:32 responsible for the Milan Academy in Italy.
06:36 Then the club unexpectedly, very quickly,
06:39 asked me to take into account
06:44 the fact that I could build a project that concerned women's football.
06:49 Do you remember that call, that moment?
06:52 Without going into details, but also who you told, the emotions,
06:55 I imagine it was a beautiful moment in your life.
06:57 Seeing this transition at Milan was something that,
07:03 on the one hand, was natural, in the sense that it was an environment known to me,
07:07 which I was trained in, I was given opportunities to grow,
07:13 and on the other hand it was something very big for a woman in this type of role.
07:23 I must say that already five or six years ago,
07:27 the strategic vision of the companies,
07:32 in wanting to include more female professional figures, has changed.
07:35 At that time, Milan was probably one of the first clubs to make a choice like this.
07:42 In Milan, however, it was the first in Italy to contribute,
07:46 to treat girls as professionals right from the start.
07:49 These have always been very big goals that we have given ourselves,
07:55 that we have always shared, that the investments did not go only in the direction of results,
08:01 which are still just as important,
08:05 but that they also went towards larger strategic goals.
08:11 Treating girls as professionals and therefore marrying a theme of equity
08:18 has always been one of the goals of the club.
08:22 I have flashbacks from the first year, good memories, like the presentation at San Siro,
08:26 I remember the beautiful victory over Juventus,
08:28 because then we told the female Milan from the first days.
08:32 But I ask you, do you have a flashback, a moment that you keep in your heart from that first year?
08:38 The first time we wore the jersey in an official race,
08:43 we knew we were writing history.
08:47 So I can probably identify that as the beginning of this whole journey.
08:55 We did it in Bari, among other things, in a somewhat turbulent day,
09:03 but I think that was really the beginning of a journey that I hope will accompany Milan
09:11 and future generations as far as possible.
09:15 How has the league changed from that Pink Bari Milan that we remember,
09:20 also in terms of memories, or rather the evolution that there has been?
09:24 Many players have come from abroad, talented young players,
09:31 guys who had international experience and who gave value in all respects.
09:39 They brought their experience, their professionalism,
09:43 and they certainly raised the technical value of our league.
09:48 The clubs have structured themselves differently.
09:53 Today, probably one of the big gaps we have with abroad,
09:58 beyond the technical path, which we are still a little behind,
10:03 but I am sure that the whole movement will grow rapidly,
10:08 is the infrastructure.
10:10 So we have an important theme related to sports infrastructure,
10:15 because there is a lack of infrastructure dedicated to the women's team.
10:20 So we are lucky at the moment to have the Puma House of Football sports center.
10:31 In terms of growth, I believe that the club will evaluate other opportunities for the future.
10:38 As for the players, we are talking about the players of the league,
10:42 Milan has great Italian and foreign players, and also an important youth sector.
10:47 We have seen the excellent results of recent years,
10:51 talking about Primavera, Under-17s, going down.
10:54 We will also talk about this, but I ask you, you who have been a player,
10:58 and you had to fight to have this important status of professionalism,
11:03 known in general, that the new generations have almost taken professionalism for granted,
11:09 because they find it under their eyes, or they have the same hunger as the older ones?
11:13 I think this is an interesting topic, both for the women's team and for the men's team.
11:20 So it's a topic that somehow brings us together with various facetators,
11:24 for different reasons, because often in youth men's football,
11:27 you get to high contracts very soon, and this could take away a little bit of hunger.
11:34 In women's football there is no such problem,
11:37 but there is an objective risk of giving for granted,
11:43 and of not giving, not attributing a fair value to all opportunities.
11:48 The approach is very varied, in the sense that we still find girls
11:52 who play exclusively for passion,
11:55 and on whom we have to work in making them understand that there is passion,
12:01 that must accompany their entire journey, but there is also sacrifice.
12:06 If there is a desire to transform this passion into work.
12:10 We have girls who have extremely clear ideas,
12:14 who already know that their dream is to do this as a job.
12:20 We also have girls who need to experiment a little bit,
12:24 who, in the face of sacrifice, risk taking a step back,
12:29 which does not belong to men's football.
12:31 A generation that must be accompanied in choices,
12:36 must be accompanied by boys, must be accompanied by families,
12:40 and this implies a great effort from a training point of view,
12:45 by all the professional figures.
12:47 So we did a project this year,
12:51 which will concern the women's spring team,
12:58 the U17s and the U15s, the categories of the women's team.
13:02 It will include a work done with the support of our psychological area
13:07 and various professionals who will dedicate themselves to work on these aspects.
13:13 Work on being able to give them tools to bring out competitiveness,
13:21 wickedness and hunger as soon as possible.
13:26 Only those who succeed will objectively be able to make that leap
13:31 that will transform this passion into something more.
13:37 Many players in the Milan youth sector play as starters
13:41 also in the national teams.
13:43 How is the youth sector doing technically and how will it evolve in the near future?
13:52 We have certainly started to invest more in the youth sector.
13:59 The desire is to have more and more players who can be part of the first team
14:06 coming from our youth sector.
14:09 Last year, for the first year, we opened a part of the invitation
14:16 dedicated to the girls, also to demonstrate the investments
14:22 and the direction of the investments.
14:24 So, there is certainly great attention, we want to enhance the talents of the territory
14:33 and at the same time have an eye on national and international talents.
14:40 The new generations are always more ready.
14:43 Paradoxically, we see that 2008 is more ready than 2006
14:47 and 2012 is more ready than 2008.
14:50 This makes us hope for the future.
14:53 I must say that we are proud when we see, as in the case of this year,
15:01 that the Iacodina won the World Cup and was with us,
15:09 even if for a short time, but in loan from Barcelona.
15:14 She gratifies us by recognizing that we have contributed to her growth
15:21 and in the same way to see Yuya Asagawa, a candidate for the Ballon d'Or
15:26 and we were the club that managed to bring him to Europe.
15:30 So, these are certainly aspects that, from a scouting point of view,
15:36 make us extremely proud.
15:39 Milan is also growing, and we all notice it, outside the pitch,
15:45 because also in terms of sponsorship, events, everything that revolves around
15:50 the Female Milan has grown, starting from the ad hoc sponsorship,
15:55 rather than many events of equality, like the last one we did,
16:01 like We Are Football, we were always pioneers in many things.
16:06 We managed to be long-term in anticipating some issues that have emerged
16:11 in recent years, given the ambiguity situations that can be created
16:17 between players and staff or players and professionals.
16:22 We have dedicated a project to this, which we have launched.
16:27 Now we are working on another project that concerns the care of motherhood.
16:33 There are cares given by collective agreements, but we would like to place ourselves
16:39 as pioneers of something absolutely new, at least as far as Italy is concerned.
16:46 From a strategic point of view, the goal is also to contribute to internationalizing
16:53 the brand, and therefore to create opportunities abroad,
16:59 and to make us bearers of gender equity issues.
17:04 Today, the club certainly places in the imaginary and in the organigram
17:09 the first female team in a different way than in the past.
17:13 I must say that there is great attention and certainly a desire to make this project grow.
17:25 We want to try to anticipate what will happen in the next few years for the female team.
17:31 How do you imagine the female team in five years?
17:35 We must shorten the gap with the big European top clubs,
17:46 not from a management or organizational point of view,
17:52 but from a purely technical point of view, as well as all Italian teams.
18:00 I believe this is an important goal.
18:05 In five years, I believe the club can be ready to compete for something really big
18:13 at an international level.
18:17 It is difficult because the growth of the female movement is a growth.
18:21 At the moment there is a kind of plateau.
18:25 There has been a big leap with professionalism,
18:31 there has been a big leap with the 2019 World Cup.
18:35 At this moment, I think there is a moment of settlement and then it will start again.
18:41 It will start again and we are sure of it because we see it abroad.
18:45 So, whoever anticipated us has done the same path.
18:50 We now simply have to narrow this distance with the outside world,
18:57 in terms of spectators, in terms of the quality of the show,
19:01 in terms of infrastructure mainly.
19:04 Spectators who, compared to the first years, this is also natural but not taken for granted, have grown.
19:10 Yes, this makes us proud.
19:13 So I thank them for the support they constantly give,
19:18 both when things go well and when they go less well.
19:21 This year we have made a project that concerns the competitions.
19:27 We have tried to make the competition event more welcoming for them,
19:34 creating more opportunities than in the past.
19:40 So I believe that today, coming to follow a women's football competition
19:44 can be a pleasant experience for the show and for the environment.
19:57 The Italian league, compared to the foreign leagues,
20:00 looking at the newspapers, we notice that there are fewer teams and the format is a little different.
20:06 Will we expect a return to the past in your vision?
20:10 A confirmation? What can change?
20:13 This will depend, in my opinion, on the growth that will take place in the lower categories.
20:18 So I am referring to Serie B, Serie C.
20:21 The moment we have more competitive players in Italy,
20:26 more Italian players competing in Italy,
20:29 and more male professional societies that want to invest in women's football,
20:37 in my opinion, the format could change.
20:41 We see that this format makes the league highly competitive and exciting from start to finish.
20:49 So at this moment the format works.
20:54 We started from your childhood dream,
20:56 I ask you what is your dream now for you and for Milan Femminile?
21:00 To honor the path I have taken, today I need to win something, a trophy.
21:09 I would be very happy if this could happen,
21:13 beyond everything that has been built.
21:17 I think it is also fair compared to the investments that the club has made,
21:23 to the efforts made by the professional figures, the girls.
21:30 Today, the victory is certainly missing,
21:34 and I hope that we can find something as soon as possible.
21:40 [BOOM]