Valentina Bergamaschi

Valentina Bergamaschi (born 22 January 1997) is an Italian football striker who plays for A.C. Milan Women of Serie A. In 2018 A.C. Milan obtained the playing licence of ACF Brescia Femminile, whom Bergamaschi had joined in 2017 after three seasons in Swiss football with Rapid Lugano, FF Lugano 1976, and FC Neunkirch. With Neunkirch she won the Nationalliga A championship and the Swiss Women's Cup in 2016–2017.

Valentina Bergamaschi
Personal information
Full name Valentina Bergamaschi
Date of birth (1997-01-22) 22 January 1997
Place of birth Varese, Italy
Height 168 cm (5 ft 6 in)
Playing position(s) Striker, Defender, Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Milan
Number 7
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2014 Alto Verbano
2014–2015 Rapid Lugano
2015–2016 Lugano 1976
2016–2017 Neunkirch
2017–2018 Brescia 14 (7)
2018– Milan 30 (3)
National team‡
2016– Italy 25 (4)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 18 June 2019

A member of the senior Italy women's national football team since 2016, Bergamaschi also has third place medals from the 2014 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship and the 2014 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.

Club career

Bergamaschi, who was born in Varese but grew up and lived with her parents in Cittiglio,[1] began competitive activity by joining FC Caravate, a club that promotes football in the homonymous italian town, playing with boys from the age of nine years old.[2]

In May 2011, Bergamaschi was called up to the representative under-15 team of Lombardy to participate in the Torneo delle Regioni (Tournament of the Regions) held in Chianciano Terme from 26 June to 3 July 2011. During the tournament, which the representative of Lombardy won by beating the Veneto in the final, Bergamaschi scored one of the goals and was noticed by the selectors of the Italy women's national under-17 football team, being called at the end of the tournament for a training camp with coaches Enrico Sbardella and Rita Guarino.[3]

As a promising young player from Lombardy, Bergamaschi was contacted by a number of football clubs in higher divisions, but decided to sign for Alto Verbano, a club that was about to compete in the 2011–2012 Serie D Italian regional Championship, then at the lowly fifth level of Italian women's football. With Bergamaschi showing her qualities from the first match of the season Alto Verbano topped the league table,[3] and retained their position until the end of the championship, gaining promotion to Serie C for 2012–2013.

During the 2014 summer transfer market, she joined Rapid Lugano of the Swiss Nationalliga B. Bergamaschi helped the club secure promotion to Nationalliga A at the end of the 2014–2015 season. Before the start of 2015–2016, the women's team left the men's club, becoming Lugano 1976. Bergamaschi decided to remain with the newly-independent club for the following season. Ahead of the 2016–17 campaign, she transferred to FC Neunkirch.

She won a league and Swiss Women's Cup double in the 2016–2017 season with Neunkirch, also finishing league top-scorer with 24 goals. But in June 2017 she became a free agent when Neunkirch withdrew from the Swiss championship and folded. In early July she agreed to join Brescia, gaining her first opportunity to play in Serie A.

In July 2018 she signed as a full-time professional with newly-formed A.C. Milan Women, who had obtained Brescia's Serie A playing licence.[4]

International career

She was called into the senior national team for the 2016 International Women's Football Tournament of Manaus.[5]

Honours
FC Neunkirch
Brescia Calcio Femminile

References
  1. "Valentina Bergamaschi, attaccante varesotta impegnata ai Mondiali Under 17" (in Italian). www.varesesport.com. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  2. "Scheda Valentina Bergamaschi" (in Italian). CF Alto Verbano. Archived from the original on 29 July 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  3. "…orgoglio per l'Alto Verbano, arriva la prima convocazione in nazionale…" (in Italian). CF Alto Verbano. Archived from the original on 29 July 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  4. "AC Milan: Marta Carissimi, Valentina Bergamaschi e Laura Fusetti diventano Rossonere!" (in Italian). Calcio Femminile Italiano. 18 July 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  5. "Torneo in Brasile dal 7 dicembre. Bottaro: "Ringrazio le societa per la collaborazione"" (in Italian). Italian Football Federation. 16 November 2016. Archived from the original on 17 November 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
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