Who is Manuela Giugliano, the first and only Italian in the running for the Ballon d’Or

In the face of a men’s football movement that for years has failed to guarantee regular attendance among the best Top Players on the planet; the nomination of Manuela Giugliano among the thirty candidates for the women’s Ballon d’Or. It is the historic first time for an Italian female footballer. The award, created in 1956 for men, has been open to women since 2018. No Italian before Giugliano had ever been on the list of nominations.

It’s a sign, a beginning, a nice way to represent the Italian women’s football. (Also because in men’s football among the 30 nominated this year there is no Italian player). The women’s FIGC also complimented you with an official tweet: «We have seen you light up every corner of every single stadium with your plays and it is right that now your light receives the recognition it deserves».

Manuela Giugliano is 27 years old, she is the captain of As Romawith whom she won two championships in the last two years (plus the Coppa Italia on two occasions), number 10 shirt, excellent technique, solid personality, a fixed point in the Italian national team coached by Soncin: she has already made 85 appearances and scored 11 goals. Last spring she was proclaimed best female player in Serie A for the second consecutive season.

Born in Castelfranco Veneto in the province of Treviso, Giugliano has been playing in Rome since 2019. She had previously worked her way up, starting with Istriana, a small club near Treviso, then Barcon in Serie C, Pordenone (with whom she made her Serie A debut in 2013, at just sixteen years old) and Torres, and had had experiences with Milan, Brescia, Verona, Mozzanica and an adventure in Spain, with the Colchoneros, the Materassai of Atletico Madrid.

Giugliano attended school to become a kindergarten teacher. She is passionate about Lego and tattoos. Among the many (the writing “Rome”, his number 10, the Lupa symbol of the Giallorossi club, his dog) he has one for each member of his family, his parents and his brother. His idols are three number 10s who have made the history of Italy. They are Alessandro Del Piero, Francesco Totti and Andrea Pirlo.

Manuela doesn’t have much hope of winning the Ballon d’Or. She knows it. To win, you need trophies and international standing. The favorites this year are her Spanish colleagues playing for Barcelona, ​​Aitana Bonmati, who is looking for a repeat after last year’s victory, and Alexia Putellas, the winner of the 2021 and 2022 editions. The women’s Ballon d’Or will be awarded on October 28 in the ceremony at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.