Pioli spends a day training Vharese, the Paralympic football team – Corriere.it

He calls them all by name: Come on Luca, come on Gianni, come on Stefano, we have the same name…. Cus soccer field, in Varese. It’s for five, but there are more players on the lawn. There are two new coaches, for the first time. Two who are on the floor above theirs, another level. But the sport itself, the ball is the same, the indications are the same as always: Precise, eh… Don’t be smart, around obstacles… let’s use sensitivity with the ball, it doesn’t matter to be fast, good, good like this…. The shirt is that of Milan and it’s not even that far from Milanello, a few kilometers from the official training ground. But the atmosphere is different and he noticed it right away Stefano Piolitracksuit and shoes, directing a training session with new players and the same passion as ever.

Last 15 March, a Wednesday in the late afternoon, the Milan coach was the coach of Vharese for just under two hours, one of the most beautiful realities of the Paralympic football division and experimental competition of the Football Federation, which organizes tournaments with teams made up of players with intellectual and/or relational disabilities: Representing Milan on these occasions makes me even more proud. I saw guys who were enthusiastic, but above all attentive and eager to do well, respecting instructions and roles, underlined Pioli. Because for him it was real and tiring training. With Luciano Vulcanohis collaborator in the Rossoneri technical staff, led the session, alongside the official coach of the Varese team, Marco Caccianiga, one with Brazil in his head and heart, so much so that he invented samba football to recall those lands.

He was a gentleman, very serious and never superficial, very good with the boys he points out Anna Sculli, the president of the company, which includes about ninety athletes involved in soccer, bowls, skiing, basketball, rowing and swimming, as well as another forty who are part of the goodwill. Since the beginning, it has been part of the Paralympic Division of the FIGC, born in 2016 thanks to the commitment of Valentina Battistini and in recent years directed by Giovanni Sacripante, with numbers growing year after year: 114 clubs, 138 teams, about 2400 athletes, more of 3200 total members, 850 games this season (finals in May in Coverciano). Each team is twinned with one of the various leagues (95% of those in Serie A have a counterpart in the DCPS) and there are several tournaments. Vharese has been twinned for two seasons and also has another team in the Dpcs, the Briantea 84 of Cant, which however competes in a higher level tournament. In February we were guests at Milanello during a Serie A training session and we asked Pioli to come and visit us. He went one step further and came to run a training session. The boys didn’t know anything, we thought we had to wear the official AC Milan uniforms for a photo and they found themselves in front of him coaching them. A wonderful surprise for them, says Sculli.

Pioli first directed training and then had the 16 players play a practice match Vharese, who train on a 5-man field, even if seven players then play and compete. Perhaps this visit will lead to the possibility of having the right measurements. Moments spent together, culminating in hugs, smiles, photos together. They remain in the mind and heart, for everyone, as Pioli explains: When you have the opportunity to spend time in these contexts, you happen to observe those around you precisely to reinforce certain beliefs: dreams cannot be cordoned off and with passion you can overcome any obstacle.