Anna Copelli

She first got hooked on football by watching games from her balcony, because a pitch sat right in front of her home near Padua.

Her very first training session started with borrowed boots.

She spent her earliest football years playing with boys before joining Padova’s girls’ setup at 11.

Football is in the family: her father played for Padova and also featured for Italy’s youth national teams.

Juventus was the dream move because, in her words, the whole family is bianconera.

History is her favorite subject at school, with Italian and philosophy also near the top.

As a child, she tried to copy Cristiana Girelli and Barbara Bonansea while watching Italy.

On the men’s side, Lionel Messi was her big obsession, and she says she has watched almost all of his YouTube videos.