In the prestigious Sala Anguissola of Castello di Travo, a Saturday afternoon presentation “1971: Campionesse!” , the book about Italian patent hero Gabbiani Piacenza, published by Edizioni Officine Gutenberg.
Fifty years after the triumphant journey that saw Gabbani rise to the roof of Italian women’s football, journalist Paolo Gentillotti spoke with author Massimo Farina and with many of the company’s champions.
Introducing the meeting, Travo Municipal Culture Counsellor Roberta Falla recalled the beginnings of the team that had been held in the village of the Tribbia Valley before moving to Bodenzano, the headquarters of Gabbiani. An heir to an entrepreneurial and athletic experience, former racing driver Beppe Gabbiani brought several memorabilia, including a tricolor shield and a vintage-flavored mug.
Mario Chitti, representing the William Buttigielli Society, which supported the publishing project with the Bodenzanese family and the municipality of Travo, stressed the commonalities of values and the precious synergies between society and the world of sport.
picture
2 of 2
But the real stars of the evening were former footballers, including Bruna Ferrara, Piacenza’s first league goal scorer in ’68 away, Maria Teresa Balla, champion Luciana Melles, Tiziana Melles, Rosa Roca, Angela Piazza and Giovanna. Mosconi accompanied by masseur Luigi Melis and coach Valisa’s son.
True pioneers in women’s football, recounting the initial difficulties and growing excitement of a winning streak, the rosters of the late Nando Boschi de Liberta, the long journeys and locker room tales.
“No European Cup or European Cups, at most an Italian Cup. We did the apprenticeships and were pioneers, but at the time women’s football had little to follow, and our company went a little ‘unnoticed’ to go along with its old glories. Among the The great satisfaction that Rosa Roca remembers “I still remember when I played at the San Siro, in the national team, in the first women’s football match at La Scala del Calcio.”
The first ever tournament in our territory, to which volleyball tournaments were only added several decades later, Brevetti Gabbiani is a story worth telling: in women’s football, which is still only emerging in Italy today, Piacenza was certainly at the forefront. The book, which tells that it is being distributed in bookstores, can be purchased online at the Officine Gutenberg website.
