Paulo Dybala: Golden Boy
Vogue, January 2016
how can you not love someone who treats the ball like dybala does?
"you recognise a footballer for his courage, his selflessness and his imagination", de gregori said about a 12 year old kid, who went to a tryout. it almost looks like he was speaking about dybala. even if by that age, dybala (born 1993) already went to his tryout for a Serie A team: he was only 10, and he didn't even know he was good, or better, he didn’t know he was THAT good. so good that 12 years later juventus was gonna spend €40m to secure him and his talent.
even back then, when he was just a kid, everybody wanted him to play for their team. "but i didn't think i was so good, simply because laguna larga (argentina), where i was born, is a little village: there were only a few kids, and we barely could make two teams…so basically you would have been chosen anyways".
scouts from Serie-A however saw that the kid has something special, but his father said no: you are only 10, too young to leave your home. better to stay at instituto de cordoba, Serie-B, but at least close to home. "close" means his father had to drive 50 kilometres to take his son to training, and another 50 to bring him back home. "my family was really awsome: my parents worked at the office, i have two older brothers, and i have had a very happy childhood".
paulo and his brothers spent their childhood chasing a ball while their father kept chasing a dream: "at least one of his sons should become a professional footballer. he has been giving us a ball to play with since we were 3. football has always been a part of this family: my mother perfectly understands what offside is".
the story of agassi comes to mind: in "open" he wrote how his father's dream to see him become a tennis player turned into a nightmare for him that made him hate tennis… "i read it, but my story is different: my father was not like that, he never forced me to play football. i love this sport: in my life, football is everything and when i play today, i also play for my father".
saying the word "father" you notice his voice is getting shaky, and his eyes are starting to look sad, due to an extremely painful memory. his father suddenly passed away when he was 15. a difficult age anyway: "it was the hardest time of my life. i was too young when he died: he fell sick, but my family didn't tell me how bad things really were, to preserve me from being worried. in that moment i decided that i was gonna do everything it needs to become a pro footballer. so when i was 15, i left my home and went on to live alone in cordoba. i also did it for my father. many years have passed since that time, but i know he's always with me."
soon the sacrifice of leaving his family should pay off: his coach noticed how talented he was, and let him debut in his team. it took him only 3 games until a local journalist would give him the nickname "la joya".
that should be his nickname until the age of 18, when he took a flight to palermo - straight to Serie-A: the price - €12m. palermos citizens made the green-eyed kid feel welcome right away. he looked so young, like a baby, so they renamed him from "la Joya" to "u picciriddo".
sicily is where he grew up and somewhat realized that if he wanted to become a great footballer, he would have to leave his nest and fly towards the white & black sky of juventus. "playing for juventus at my young age is one of the greatest things that could ever have happened to me, but leaving palermo wasn't easy at all: in the south they made me feel at home. the fact that juventus payed €40m for me didn't scare me at all, it actually was just one more reason to show them how good i really am. i also fulfilled my dream to play for my country, argentina.”
what annoys him most is the word "mercenary" fans often lable footballers who change their team: "i have been called like that often, people think we don’t have a heart."
his heart beats for his argentinian girlfriend, and different to many other footballers, he tries to avoid paparazzi: "a downside of being a footballer is the fact that i can't go outside without getting disturbed. since i don’t like to be on front pages for things that have nothing to do with football, i prefer to stay at home and chill or to watch some tv-shows, like prison break."
he is far from the media excesses of other footballers, he has only three tattoos, his only addiction is playing playstation ("but i've stopped playing because i'm not alone anymore"), he also likes the pope ("he is a typical argentinian: nice and humble")
dybala seems to be the epitome of the good guy and it doesn't come as a surprise, that when asked who is the most beautiful woman in the world, he quickly answers:
"my mom".
Text by Angelo Pannofino
