I've found an interview on the j1897 forum made to Federico Balzaretti and reading it made me appreciate this guy. So I decided to translate it:
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“I’ll tell you the whole truth”
“Close to my family in a very strong club, that’s why I’m at Juve”
Federico Balzaretti, do you feel a “gobbo”?
“It’s not a correct definition, at least for me”
But in the Curva Maratona they call you that...
“I know, I know. And I smile when they call me that. But it’s natural to be made fun of, the irony towards you. Who is a public persona, who’s famous, has to pay a price. For good or for worse. That’s why I think that, as long the whole thing remains in the limits, you don’t have to get angry, but, if the limits are surpassed, and they threaten you by phone and insult you in the streets, everything changes.”
The most generous ones call you a traitor.
“There are some that don’t wanna understand that it wasn’t me that wanted to leave Toro, but that it was Toro that had bankrupted. I have waited for the previous owners (of Torino), Giovannone and Marengo, to find a solution. While I waited I lost two prestigious professional chances. Then I received a irrenounceable offer from Juventus and I found myself at a crossroad”.
A problem, you mean…
”Listen, the man has chosen before of the player. I wanted to remain close to home, my daughter Lucrezia, who is a month old now, was about to be born, Juventus is one of the strongest teams in the world. I put all of this together and I made my choice”
Were you conscious of what you were going to face?
“Yeah, I was. I knew it wasn’t gonna be easy to remain in Turin, but my granata friends, because I still have a lot of them, have understood. Or better, they have understood me.
Have you spent difficult weeks in the city?
“Fortunately it’s a bit better now. I go out peacefully with my girlfriend, my daughter, my family, I hang out in the same places as before, I don’t remain home. And if someone insults me, so be it, I don’t care”.
What do you want to say to the supporters of Torino?
“Nothing. For a very simple reason: I have already explained the reasons of my choice. The ones who wanted to understand already did, the ones who didn’t want to, never will.”
And what do you think of Cimminelli and Romero?
“They have behaved badly. They have deceived us, they have never been clear. It’s their fault that I experienced the worst month of my life”
Do you follow the new Toro?
“Of corse I do. And I’m happy of the arrival of Mr. Cairo. I wish Torino to return right away to Serie A and to have many satisfactions. I repeat, I still have a bond with that environment. I have played 10 years for granata and I grew up with that shirt.”
Speaking of this: how did you feel playing with the black and white one?
“It felt very strange, I admit it. But, I repeat once again, it was a very difficult decision, that I made thinking first of all about my family.”
What advices were you given by Pessotto, that, like you, has gone from Torino to Juventus?
“To remain focused, even if at the beginning it has been very difficult for me. Gianluca is a wonderful person, I’ve spoken a lot with him, he has told me about the problems he faced changing side”.
Sergio Giunta, your masseur, has a long granata experience in his past. How did he welcome you?
”With a smile. He was happy, at least they will leave him alone for a while”.
How do you feel after almost two months at Juventus and a little amount of time played?
“Great. The impact was good, surely better than I had immagined. The guys have been very nice to me, the trainer has tried to make me feel comfortable. Every day someone preoccupies himself of asking me if everything is alright, if I need something, if they can be useful. And they are stars.”
Do you already feel one of them?
“I still have to demonstrate to be a Juventus player”.
How did you expect the club?
“They had told me about the bianconera organisation and here actually everything works perfectly. But I want to think only about the field, about training, about playing”.
Is it true that you’ve accepted to go to Juve only if you could remain?
“Totally true. I wasn’t interested in being loaned out”.
With the risk of playing very little…
“With this risk. I considered it, of course. This is my challenge, I know that many great players come before me, but I can learn from them and I find very important to be able to relate myself with who has more experience than me. Anyway – and it’s absolutely normal – everyone would like to always play, but I understand that I have to wait for my turn”.
What impression did Capello make to you?
“He’s a trainer with a great personality. You know why?”.
Why?
“Because he treats everyone the same way: the stars and Balzaretti, who is the newbie”.
And Luciano Moggi?
“He’s a direct and very frank person. He said only a couple of words, but he made me understand Juventus’ mentality and how it is expected to behave in this group”
How is being the reserve of Zambrotta?
“Well, it’s hard. What I mean is that one plays very little, because you have a star before you. But I consider it an advantage, in my case: I can train with Gianluca everyday and ‘steal’ some of his secrets. I still have to learn…”
Who’s your role model?
“Saying it now seems adulatory, but the truth is that Zambrotta has been my role model for years. There are only a few LB around, ours is a particular position”.
Balzaretti tells Juventini about Balzaretti
“I’m a simple guy, maybe a little more mature than people my age, because we players are used to have particular pressures. I’ve just become a dad, Lucrezia has turned my life upside down. I don’t get as much angry anymore, when I’m sad or angry I think about her and everything has a new meaning”.
What’s your goal for this season?
“To become a Juventus player under every aspect and to give my contribute to reach some prestigious victories. Because this is a really exceptional team.”
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He hasn't patheticly tried to reject his past and didn't say banalities just to get more tifosi on his side. He seems a very intelligent, sincere and humble guy and I hope he'll make it at Juve
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“I’ll tell you the whole truth”
“Close to my family in a very strong club, that’s why I’m at Juve”
Federico Balzaretti, do you feel a “gobbo”?
“It’s not a correct definition, at least for me”
But in the Curva Maratona they call you that...
“I know, I know. And I smile when they call me that. But it’s natural to be made fun of, the irony towards you. Who is a public persona, who’s famous, has to pay a price. For good or for worse. That’s why I think that, as long the whole thing remains in the limits, you don’t have to get angry, but, if the limits are surpassed, and they threaten you by phone and insult you in the streets, everything changes.”
The most generous ones call you a traitor.
“There are some that don’t wanna understand that it wasn’t me that wanted to leave Toro, but that it was Toro that had bankrupted. I have waited for the previous owners (of Torino), Giovannone and Marengo, to find a solution. While I waited I lost two prestigious professional chances. Then I received a irrenounceable offer from Juventus and I found myself at a crossroad”.
A problem, you mean…
”Listen, the man has chosen before of the player. I wanted to remain close to home, my daughter Lucrezia, who is a month old now, was about to be born, Juventus is one of the strongest teams in the world. I put all of this together and I made my choice”
Were you conscious of what you were going to face?
“Yeah, I was. I knew it wasn’t gonna be easy to remain in Turin, but my granata friends, because I still have a lot of them, have understood. Or better, they have understood me.
Have you spent difficult weeks in the city?
“Fortunately it’s a bit better now. I go out peacefully with my girlfriend, my daughter, my family, I hang out in the same places as before, I don’t remain home. And if someone insults me, so be it, I don’t care”.
What do you want to say to the supporters of Torino?
“Nothing. For a very simple reason: I have already explained the reasons of my choice. The ones who wanted to understand already did, the ones who didn’t want to, never will.”
And what do you think of Cimminelli and Romero?
“They have behaved badly. They have deceived us, they have never been clear. It’s their fault that I experienced the worst month of my life”
Do you follow the new Toro?
“Of corse I do. And I’m happy of the arrival of Mr. Cairo. I wish Torino to return right away to Serie A and to have many satisfactions. I repeat, I still have a bond with that environment. I have played 10 years for granata and I grew up with that shirt.”
Speaking of this: how did you feel playing with the black and white one?
“It felt very strange, I admit it. But, I repeat once again, it was a very difficult decision, that I made thinking first of all about my family.”
What advices were you given by Pessotto, that, like you, has gone from Torino to Juventus?
“To remain focused, even if at the beginning it has been very difficult for me. Gianluca is a wonderful person, I’ve spoken a lot with him, he has told me about the problems he faced changing side”.
Sergio Giunta, your masseur, has a long granata experience in his past. How did he welcome you?
”With a smile. He was happy, at least they will leave him alone for a while”.
How do you feel after almost two months at Juventus and a little amount of time played?
“Great. The impact was good, surely better than I had immagined. The guys have been very nice to me, the trainer has tried to make me feel comfortable. Every day someone preoccupies himself of asking me if everything is alright, if I need something, if they can be useful. And they are stars.”
Do you already feel one of them?
“I still have to demonstrate to be a Juventus player”.
How did you expect the club?
“They had told me about the bianconera organisation and here actually everything works perfectly. But I want to think only about the field, about training, about playing”.
Is it true that you’ve accepted to go to Juve only if you could remain?
“Totally true. I wasn’t interested in being loaned out”.
With the risk of playing very little…
“With this risk. I considered it, of course. This is my challenge, I know that many great players come before me, but I can learn from them and I find very important to be able to relate myself with who has more experience than me. Anyway – and it’s absolutely normal – everyone would like to always play, but I understand that I have to wait for my turn”.
What impression did Capello make to you?
“He’s a trainer with a great personality. You know why?”.
Why?
“Because he treats everyone the same way: the stars and Balzaretti, who is the newbie”.
And Luciano Moggi?
“He’s a direct and very frank person. He said only a couple of words, but he made me understand Juventus’ mentality and how it is expected to behave in this group”
How is being the reserve of Zambrotta?
“Well, it’s hard. What I mean is that one plays very little, because you have a star before you. But I consider it an advantage, in my case: I can train with Gianluca everyday and ‘steal’ some of his secrets. I still have to learn…”
Who’s your role model?
“Saying it now seems adulatory, but the truth is that Zambrotta has been my role model for years. There are only a few LB around, ours is a particular position”.
Balzaretti tells Juventini about Balzaretti
“I’m a simple guy, maybe a little more mature than people my age, because we players are used to have particular pressures. I’ve just become a dad, Lucrezia has turned my life upside down. I don’t get as much angry anymore, when I’m sad or angry I think about her and everything has a new meaning”.
What’s your goal for this season?
“To become a Juventus player under every aspect and to give my contribute to reach some prestigious victories. Because this is a really exceptional team.”
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He hasn't patheticly tried to reject his past and didn't say banalities just to get more tifosi on his side. He seems a very intelligent, sincere and humble guy and I hope he'll make it at Juve
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