Women’s football, Milan American style. Thomas: “We don’t force girls to choose between school and sports.” Lung: “Same salary as men” – Football

MILAN – The Milan American, whose owner Gerry Cardinale has the new stadium as a declared priority in this phase, it is increasingly focusing on women’s soccer. On 13 March it hosted a friendly match between the first women’s team, supplemented by some girls from the Primavera, and the university team of Harvard driven by Chris Hamblin. Harvard is among the strongest teams in the USA and like Milan it has some protagonists, of different nationalities, of the next ones World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. The link with American women’s soccer is now consolidated for the team coached by Maurice Ganz, after last August’s participation in the Women’s Cup in Louisville, Kentucky. In the United States, women’s soccer has long been one professional sports and continued confrontation has been championed by Elizabeth Spinawho heads the AC Milan women’s sector and who illustrated the technical project to the American guests, together with the Primavera coach David Courts it’s at Michaela Fantoni, head of the psycho-pedagogical area: “The opportunities for international comparison are always a reason for growth for the team: we have opened our project abroad and in particular to the USA, where historically women’s football is very important”. They spoke with the role of women’s football in the US and in Italy Republic two players from Milan and Harvard: the French Lindsey Thomas and the US Ava Lung.

Lindsey Thomas, 27, striker for Milan and France, as a cosmopolitan footballer, do you believe that the comparison with American women’s football, much more evolved than the Italian one, was above all cultural?

“The main objective was to continue the football cultural exchange between two different realities. But I also think that this friendly was very important for our women’s spring, because it allowed the girls to discover a new model, gaining awareness of the level of one of the strongest women’s football movements in the world. This comparison and this discovery must make even the youngest players understand how much they must aim to grow and work well, to reach the highest levels, become professionals, find a place in the first team and who knows, maybe even have some adventures abroad ”.

Today’s Milan is American and consequently attentive to American sports as a whole: how much can this favor the development of the women’s movement in Italy?

“We hope and hope so, we have to take a cue from what is happening in the United States, look at the American model to perhaps replicate some aspects and raise the level here in Italy as well. I am also referring to greater visibility and the creation of something special to attract an ever-increasing audience”.

In what do you think the gap with respect to the USA is most evident?

“The players there are more structured, preparation is higher for the moment than in Europe and Italy, but here we are certainly growing. The physique counts a lot, especially in contrasts. In America they are more advanced from that point of view, but we are on a technical and tactical level. But their tactical level isn’t bad either, otherwise they wouldn’t have been able to win so much as a national team. The physical gap, however, is not the only difference. I also see a gap linked to the enthusiasm that women’s football generates in the USA: we need to work even more on the strategy, to bring more fans to watch our games”.

But the Italian school and university system remains poorly integrated with sport, unlike America: what is the most urgent reform?

“We need more awareness of the fact that sport can be an aid to study. We must not put students in front of the choice between study and sport, we should think of models that allow both paths to be pursued for those who want to follow them”.

Is the perennial confrontation with men’s football in Italy a stimulus or a penalty for you?

“Maybe it’s more of a penalty: we play the same sport, but physiologically men and women are different and we will never be able to have the same power as a man or the same speed. The fan shouldn’t think of watching a women’s soccer match with the idea of ​​watching Ibrahimovic or Theo Hernandez or others on the pitch, because we will never have the same intensity and it’s not fair to always be compared. It is this comparison that then leads to trivial comments and clichés according to which a woman cannot and must not play football but stay in the kitchen. Instead, it is necessary to look at other characteristics: our specificities such as technique, tactics because this is where we play the same sport and this applies to all sporting disciplines”.

You made it to the top, up to the French national team: with what obstacles?

“I started playing football and athletics when I was still in Guadeloupe. Then, at 15, I left for France leaving my family to pursue my goal of becoming a professional soccer player. I joined him in Italy, discovering different cultures and countries such as France, Switzerland and precisely Italy. It has been a long journey, not always easy, but I think that when you really want something there is nothing that can and should hinder you”.

Equal pay with men, achieved in the US, would be a utopia: how important was the recognition of professionalism and what is now the most plausible new goal for the women’s movement in Italy?

“Finally now I can say: I’m a professional soccer player like my male colleagues. This status also changes the way we athletes are seen by those who previously only expressed criticism. On the other hand we have always played football, but now we are entitled to do it in everyone’s eyes, not just ours. Equal pay will be difficult, it’s a matter that also concerns business, sponsors, the market. We won’t get there, but one of the objectives is to have adequate conditions for the sacrifices we are making for our profession, which is also our passion. An important step brought about by professionalism was the elimination of the salary cap. And the criticisms against us have decreased”.

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Ava Lung, 24 years old, Harvard midfielder, what did this trip to Italy mean to you, who represent an avant-garde football movement for victories and audiences, where women’s football does not have a following and a business comparable to yours?

“This trip was special because it allowed us to play in a highly competitive environment, experiencing different styles of football and a new culture.”

Women’s soccer in the United States is a top sport, with 4 Olympics and 4 World Cups won: what is the reason for the success?

“I would say that there are essentially two reasons: the attention to the development of youth football and the many resources available from a young age. This allows you to have a wider pool of players to choose from.”

But why are there so many girls in the US who play soccer, preferring it to other classic American sports?

“Here too there are two basic reasons: the growing media coverage of our sport and its popularity, probably also because it is more accessible than other disciplines. Let’s not forget the driving effect of the national team and its victories: the players of the USA team represent a strong role model for the younger girls”.

One of the keys to the turning point is historically the 1972 law which introduced football in schools: what is the relationship between football and school-university?

“Harvard is a very clear example. With the introduction of Title IX, football has given us the opportunity to attend such a prestigious university, while continuing to play the sport at a high level. We all believe that it is important to be able to achieve one’s academic and sporting goals at the same time”.

Equal pay in Italy would be very difficult even for the players of the national team: do you feel you are a pioneer for Europe?

“We believe equal pay is extremely important and it is amazing to see how far women’s football has come. But there is still a lot of room for improvement. All female players deserve to have equal voice and equal pay and we hope that Italy and other countries will be able to achieve this goal in the near future.”

How do you evaluate the current level of Italian football?

“It was great to experience a different style of play than US soccer and it’s amazing to see such promising talent across the country.”