SPORT / SPORTS
Gianfilippo was born in Rome to a Serbian mother and an Italian father – two cultures are combined within him, but his choice was clear. When the coach of Serbia’s U17 national team, Igor Matić, sent an invitation, Gianfilippo accepted without hes- itation. “I chose Serbia with my heart. My mother, grandmoth- er, great-grandmother... They’ve all told me the most beautiful things about Serbia. They taught me the language, songs, tradi- tions. We’ve visited Belgrade often and that certainly influenced my decision a lot. People from the Federation called my father, I didn’t know anything about it. They spoke to my dad and told him that interest exists in Serbia. When my dad relayed the de- tails of the conversation to me, I was delighted. I informed my teammates and we celebrated the good news,” said Gianfilippo about his Serbian national team selection. Tadija is a contemporary of Materazzi and the younger brother of the famous Lazar Samardžić from Atalanta. Born in Germany, he was raised in Berlin but has deep Serbian roots. When the call came, Tadija said “yes” – and he’d already trained in Pazova alongside Materazzi. “I’ve already sat down with Gianfilippo and we got to know each other well after arriving here. We’ve fit in well during this short period. It wasn’t really a difficult decision, because I feel like a Serb, just like my brother Lazar, who plays for the national team. As such, it was more of a personal feeling, said Tadija, who plays for the U17 team of Berlin’s Hertha. These lads aren’t just talented footballers – they’re a bridge between thousands of people born beyond Serbia and their an- cestral homeland. They are also a call for everyone who boards an Air Serbia plane or enters the airport in Belgrade to be aware that they’ve arrived home. In this era when major footballing nations like Germany and Italy represent a challenge to them- selves, Serbia is offering Gianfilippo and Tadija a chance to make it to the A team – and to become national heroes.
Đanfilipo Materaci Gianfilippo Materazzi
Kada je selektor kadetske reprezentacije Igor Matić poslao poziv, obojica su ga prihvatili bez oklevanja When the coach of the cadet national team, Igor Matić, sent the invitation, both of them accepted it without hesitation
110 | Sport » Sports
Made with FlippingBook interactive PDF creator