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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
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| Italian women's footballers aim for where men failed – a place in the World Cup | Italian women's footballers aim for where men failed – a place in the World Cup |
| (11 days later) | |
| There are two hard truths in Italian football; first, that the men’s national team, four times world champions, are virtually guaranteed a spot in the World Cup every four years. And second, that not much has been expected from the women’s team, who last earned a place among the best of the best in 1999. | There are two hard truths in Italian football; first, that the men’s national team, four times world champions, are virtually guaranteed a spot in the World Cup every four years. And second, that not much has been expected from the women’s team, who last earned a place among the best of the best in 1999. |
| This year, all of that is being turned on its head. The Azzurri failed to earn their chance in Russia next year after being eliminated by Sweden earlier this month – a defeat that stunned the nation and elicited comparisons to the end of days. | This year, all of that is being turned on its head. The Azzurri failed to earn their chance in Russia next year after being eliminated by Sweden earlier this month – a defeat that stunned the nation and elicited comparisons to the end of days. |
| Now, it is Italy’s women who are poised to clinch a place in France for the 2019 World Cup. The squad will take the pitch against Portugal in Estoril on Tuesday, with the confidence of a team that are at the top of their group ranking. | Now, it is Italy’s women who are poised to clinch a place in France for the 2019 World Cup. The squad will take the pitch against Portugal in Estoril on Tuesday, with the confidence of a team that are at the top of their group ranking. |
| They have not won yet, and several more matches will follow. But the prospect of Italy sending its women’s team, while the legendary Gigi Buffon stews at home, has highlighted all the challenges female athletes face in a country where men’s football is treated like a religion. | They have not won yet, and several more matches will follow. But the prospect of Italy sending its women’s team, while the legendary Gigi Buffon stews at home, has highlighted all the challenges female athletes face in a country where men’s football is treated like a religion. |
| It has also ignited a hint of hope that the women may yet have their day in the sun. | It has also ignited a hint of hope that the women may yet have their day in the sun. |
| “I have been in football for 40 years. Football in Italy is the last men’s stronghold,” says Milena Bertolini, the women’s head coach. | “I have been in football for 40 years. Football in Italy is the last men’s stronghold,” says Milena Bertolini, the women’s head coach. |
| As a girl growing up in Italy, the former central defender, who played for Bologna and Modena, says it was considered strange, if not downright weird, for a woman to play football. | As a girl growing up in Italy, the former central defender, who played for Bologna and Modena, says it was considered strange, if not downright weird, for a woman to play football. |
| “Boys looked at me as if I was an alien. Short hair, playing football, they thought I wasn’t really a woman,” she told the Guardian in an interview. | “Boys looked at me as if I was an alien. Short hair, playing football, they thought I wasn’t really a woman,” she told the Guardian in an interview. |
| Those perceptions are changing, and Bertolini says that appreciation for women’s football, which is popular in the US and Germany, is finally getting more attention. | Those perceptions are changing, and Bertolini says that appreciation for women’s football, which is popular in the US and Germany, is finally getting more attention. |
| One of the squad’s stars, Sara Gama, says attitudes are changing fast, thanks in part to the creation in 2015 of new women’s club teams, including Juventus, Italy’s traditionally dominant men’s team, where she also plays. | One of the squad’s stars, Sara Gama, says attitudes are changing fast, thanks in part to the creation in 2015 of new women’s club teams, including Juventus, Italy’s traditionally dominant men’s team, where she also plays. |
| “It’s a cultural change in the mind of the Italian people and a lot of men and women are starting to follow women’s football and we are acquiring new fans. We feel the change in attention, so we are taking advantage,” she says. | “It’s a cultural change in the mind of the Italian people and a lot of men and women are starting to follow women’s football and we are acquiring new fans. We feel the change in attention, so we are taking advantage,” she says. |
| She is also quick to emphasise that any change in the women’s fortunes – including a possible uptick in popularity – ought not to be read as a side-effect of the men’s disastrous performance. | She is also quick to emphasise that any change in the women’s fortunes – including a possible uptick in popularity – ought not to be read as a side-effect of the men’s disastrous performance. |
| “We are quite focused on the field, this has nothing to do with us. The pressure we felt is the same as before. The women have not been in the World Cup for a long, long time. So this is the pressure we feel,” Gama says. | “We are quite focused on the field, this has nothing to do with us. The pressure we felt is the same as before. The women have not been in the World Cup for a long, long time. So this is the pressure we feel,” Gama says. |
| “For sure we are quite tired of not getting enough attention, we’re thinking this is year zero for us,” she adds. | “For sure we are quite tired of not getting enough attention, we’re thinking this is year zero for us,” she adds. |
| Bertolini, the coach, says a lot of work still needs to be done, adding that she feels Italy is sometimes slow to pick up cultural changes. | Bertolini, the coach, says a lot of work still needs to be done, adding that she feels Italy is sometimes slow to pick up cultural changes. |
| Nowhere does it seem more obvious than the way the team is treated by broadcasters. When the Azzurre, as the women are known, take the pitch in Portugal, the match will not be aired live on Rai 1, the main state-owned Italian television channel. | Nowhere does it seem more obvious than the way the team is treated by broadcasters. When the Azzurre, as the women are known, take the pitch in Portugal, the match will not be aired live on Rai 1, the main state-owned Italian television channel. |
| There are no signs that this is about to change, even after a social media campaign, using the hashtag #AzzurresuRai1 (Women on Rai 1), sought to rally support behind the women. | There are no signs that this is about to change, even after a social media campaign, using the hashtag #AzzurresuRai1 (Women on Rai 1), sought to rally support behind the women. |
| Unlike their male counterparts, who enjoy multimillion-euro contracts to play for Juventus, Inter Milan and Roma, the women are still considered amateur athletes and many who play for middle-tier clubs are unpaid and are forced to juggle training and other jobs. | Unlike their male counterparts, who enjoy multimillion-euro contracts to play for Juventus, Inter Milan and Roma, the women are still considered amateur athletes and many who play for middle-tier clubs are unpaid and are forced to juggle training and other jobs. |
| Barbara Bonansea plays for Juventus as a midfielder and has a spot on the national team, but is also pursuing a graduate degree in economics. | Barbara Bonansea plays for Juventus as a midfielder and has a spot on the national team, but is also pursuing a graduate degree in economics. |
| “I study and that’s technically my profession, because I’m not considered a professional player in Italy … I just get a monthly cheque for my expenses,” she says. “Our games are not aired on TV, or are rarely aired. They should start from there,” Bonansea adds. | “I study and that’s technically my profession, because I’m not considered a professional player in Italy … I just get a monthly cheque for my expenses,” she says. “Our games are not aired on TV, or are rarely aired. They should start from there,” Bonansea adds. |
| The Italian minister for sport, Luca Lotti, told the Guardian: “We are working to improve women’s football in Italy. Since February 2015, we have launched an Office for the Development of Women’s Football. There is still a lot to do but we are on the right track. As for the TV rights, it’s a Rai decision.” | The Italian minister for sport, Luca Lotti, told the Guardian: “We are working to improve women’s football in Italy. Since February 2015, we have launched an Office for the Development of Women’s Football. There is still a lot to do but we are on the right track. As for the TV rights, it’s a Rai decision.” |
| The depth of resistance in Italy, even in professional football circles, was exposed two years ago when a top football official, Felice Belloli, who was head of the national amateur league, reportedly lamented that Italy ought to stop spending money on “this bunch of lesbos”. He denied the remarks, but was said to have made them at a meeting about women’s football. | The depth of resistance in Italy, even in professional football circles, was exposed two years ago when a top football official, Felice Belloli, who was head of the national amateur league, reportedly lamented that Italy ought to stop spending money on “this bunch of lesbos”. He denied the remarks, but was said to have made them at a meeting about women’s football. |
| “I knew Belloli’s thoughts were Italy’s thoughts. Italians had the same feelings towards us,” the coach, Bertolini says. | “I knew Belloli’s thoughts were Italy’s thoughts. Italians had the same feelings towards us,” the coach, Bertolini says. |
| But, she added, then something changed. “Bad things can lead to good things, it’s the law of resilience,” she says. | But, she added, then something changed. “Bad things can lead to good things, it’s the law of resilience,” she says. |
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