Eight years later, Cristiano Giaretta lets his mind wander. “Sometimes I close my eyes and go back to the past, thinking about Bruno and when we bought it,” he says. “We were undecided: do we want to spend this money or not?”
This decision in 2012 would have shaped the future of Bruno Fernandes, then 17 and Novara Calcio, a Serie B team that needed inspiration. Giaretta was their sports director.
“In my role, you can imagine how many agents there are and how many of them keep proposing players,” he says. “It’s up to you to understand, with experience, that you can trust.”
The fairytale story of Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes began deep in Serie B.
On this occasion, his judgment was solid. At the request of Fernandes’ brother-in-law Miguel Pinho, Giaretta flew to Portugal to see the teenager playing in Boavista’s youth team.
He liked what he saw. Better yet, the asking price was in their budget. “But in our small club, in the second division … € 40,000 (£ 36,400) is not a small amount,” says Giaretta.
‘You always have worries about kids who are very young, who change countries. They move and don’t know the language … but it was a risk we wanted to face. “
It was also a leap of confidence for Fernandes. He was leaving his family and girlfriend Ana behind and turning his back on the interest of Juventus and Fiorentina. “Not knowing anyone, not speaking the language, not having anyone able to translate what had to be done, was very difficult,” said Fernandes later.
The head of Novara Calcio Cristiano Giaretta was not sure that the club would have to buy Fernandes
“This is where Bruno’s story began,” says Giaretta. ‘[It] it’s like a movie, a fantasy. I am very satisfied for him, for me and for Novara. It’s a good story. ‘
Fernandes was one of the first foreign players that Novara signed for his academy. Others soon followed, but according to former head of the academy Mauro Borghetti, none had such an impact.
“In the opening minutes of his first home game with the Under 19 against Sampdoria, he crushed an opponent,” recalls Borghetti. From there the star of this “respectful, polite boy” without any lack of trust has only risen.
“What immediately struck you about Bruno was his great personality on the pitch, even with bigger players.”
Fernandes had become one of the first foreign players to sign for the staging of the Novara Academy
Within a few months, Fernandes had graduated from the first team and dragged them to the top level.
The following summer, Giaretta’s eye for talent also earned him a promotion. He went to Udinese and took Fernandes with him. After the midfielder appeared in front of British cameras this year, they got back in touch. “It’s not so common that a player who plays in Italy, from Portugal … and speaks English so well immediately,” says Giaretta.
It’s familiar to Fernandes, though. In Novara, it has never been without an Italian dictionary. The teenager watched local TV, read Italian books and plastered his room with vocabulary Post-it Notes. Within a few months he had learned his adoptive language and had dragged Novara onto the table. No surprise, therefore, that United has seen such immediate results.
When he was in Novara, Fernandes lived at the club’s training base and for eight months he lived at £ 45 a week from his mother after paperwork issues meant his £ 1,260 a month salary had not been paid halfway. season. . But this narrow existence spoke more of Fernandes’ maturity and resolve.
The director broke into Novara’s first team and dragged them to the top division
Giaretta’s eye for talent earned him a promotion and brought Fernandes with him to Udinese
“I have never seen a player focus on football like him,” says Giaretta. “Determination at 17 is not normal … he was an adult.”
Fernandes requested further individual training and distinguished himself in group sessions. “He was very intelligent in understanding tactical instructions even when he didn’t know the language,” says Giaretta. Initially, the coach asked the players not to translate. “I prefer you to try a little more,” said Fernandes.
‘With Bruno we never had problems. He was the ideal young player, ‘says Giaretta. “Normally you have to follow them, talk to them about some rules or behaviors.”
As for the distinctive traits of his game – excellent delivery of the set, intelligent movement and an eye for the passage of the killer – were already evident.
Fernandes wanted extra individual training, stood out in group sessions and was competitive
“He’s the player I remember,” says Giaretta. “The only thing you have to do is say” Bruno, go on the field and have fun “.”
But there remained a problem. “Physically it was light,” explains Giaretta. And Serie B was a ruthless league. ‘[It’s] like the championship. “
Should they add volume to his brain and risk “ruining” the player? “He was so skilled, we didn’t want to touch a perfect player,” explains Giaretta.
“Bruno was completely different from any other player I had in the past – and still am today – because of his brain and mentality,” says Giaretta. “The smartest guy I’ve ever met at 17, 18, 19.”
Fernandes was also ruthlessly competitive and did not suffer good losses in training, table tennis and table football.
He has already gained comparisons with Eric Cantona after impressing at Old Trafford
He was soon admired by his teammates and was reportedly nicknamed “the Maradona di Novara” by the local press.
Already at United, he is gaining comparisons with Eric Cantona. For those of Novara, however, remains the “kind” boy who arrived in 2012.
“Novara was an opportunity for Bruno to make himself known,” says Borghetti. ‘Nobody had believed in him until then. His brilliant career began in Novara. ‘
Giaretta agrees. “He knows it was very important to him,” he says. ‘What I see now is just a much better and more confident player [who] she is no longer 17 years old. “
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