Long interview with the microphones of Radio TV Serie A For Raoul Bellanova, winger for Torino and the Italian national team: “What is Toro? Since I arrived, the thing that struck me most of all was the affection and the way in which the fans welcomed me. I played in Turin a year, for now, and it feels like I’ve been here for four or five years. The fans always make themselves heard, both in the city and on the pitch, supporting me even in difficult moments. The teammates welcomed me very well, even when I initially didn’t have them fueled, I am really happy with the choice I made and I would do it again a hundred thousand times. The stadium was practically always full, the public is ambitious also due to the history that this great team has. It is right that the Toro fans ask the players. this year in defeats and victories we gave 100% trying to bring home as many points as possible Grande Torino? Having worn the celebratory shirt in honor of the Superga fallen was emotional, there was a different atmosphere in the stadium in that one match. Entering Philadelphia and reading the names of the players engraved on the walls of the stadium makes you understand how important that team was for this city. It’s right to honor the history of this shirt every time we play.”
Sign of destiny. “The first call-up to the First Team at Milan was against Toro, the opponent also when I scored my first goal in Serie A, and also in the last championship match last year with Inter, here at Grande Torino. I really had to come here… evidently the planets have aligned.”
Cairo and Juric. “President and coach are two people who have always been present in my journey, especially at the beginning when I wasn’t able to express myself 100%, it’s not everyone who always stays next to a player both on and off the field. There were two fundamental people in my growth. The President wrote me a beautiful message after the match against Italy in the United States, he said that he was proud because he had seen the same Bellanova on the pitch that he sees every Saturday and Sunday with Mister Juric I have to thank him as if he were a father, he was a fundamental person who helped me more than anyone in this growth. Having the coach’s trust is the most important thing to perform on the pitch, even when initially I wasn’t able to express myself the way I wanted him to he was calm, he came to talk to me and started making me do targeted work on the pitch. Little by little the fruits of his work emerged, 60% of what I did this year is thanks to him.”
The other coaches.
“I have to thank Mister Mazzarri who launched me into the football of the greats in Serie A. I still have a wonderful relationship with him, he believed in me and when he put me on for the first time he never took me off the pitch again. Even in Bordeaux with Sousa helped me grow mentally: it wasn’t spring football anymore and I understood that you couldn’t get certain things wrong anymore. And then Oddo in Pescara, who played the same role as me, really helped me a lot maintained good relationships with every coach I had.”
The grenade season. “After last year, where I didn’t play much, the goal was to demonstrate my potential: I hope I succeeded. My assists to Zapata? During training we look for combinations and understanding. Duvan is a great player, once you put the ball in his head he almost certainly scores. I have 7 assists and 6 came after the first round, I’m sorry because I could have done it more before it was really exciting, I’ve been looking for it for a long time because when you score it also unlocks you mentally. Comrades? With Samuele Ricci we’re like brothers, I’ve known him for a long time and we always see each other even after training. We’re a great group, that’s the strength of our team. I admire Duvan a lot, after making the Champions League and all those goals I have always seen him train at 100%, he is someone who never saves himself when he could have done so. From day one he has always pushed to the maximum, not there was a training session where he went slowly: I think this is a source of great inspiration. He has been reborn and he deserved it, I was lucky enough to experience it in his prime, when I was at Atalanta for six months.”