Eva Schatzer: «The Primavera Scudetto would mean a lot. This is what Salvai saw in me». The Juventus Women midfielder exclusively
The youngest player in the Juventus Women to have signed a professional contract: it is only the last stage burned by Eva darling, midfielder born in 2005 who already thinks like a champion. For months she has been attending the Montemurro First Team, where she understands the secrets and absorbs the advice of the coach and teammates. Eva told herself to JuventusNews24.com managing to hide his proverbial shyness, minus the excitement for an imminent Final Four Scudetto to be played together with theUnder 19 black and white, of which she is captain. She speaks three languages and blushes when we remind her that ‘schatz‘, in tedescomeans ‘treasure’.
Hi Eva, how many languages do you know?
I come from Trentino and I speak German at home. But I also know Italian and English.
Is that where your gamer dream started?
When I was 3 or 4 I started playing football at home with my two older brothers and my dad. After a few years I joined the society of my country where I played together with the boys. After two or three seasons I changed team and started with the girls in Bressanone. From there then came the move to Juve in 2020 together with my cousin Elisa who now plays with me in the First Team.
Are you very close to your cousin, Elisa Pfattner?
I have a very close relationship with her because we have been living together for five years now. Even before arriving at Juve we played together in a place two hours from our house. We were in boarding school all week and then went home at the weekend. I’ve been playing with her since I was eight years old and we’ve always got along well on the pitch. We understand each other even without looking at each other: she always knows when to run and I pass the ball to her without even seeing her. She is a very close person to me and we get on well together.
Do you ever miss home?
It was a little difficult for me at first. The first year I almost never returned due to the lockdown and it was impossible to leave the region. But now I’m used to it, when it’s possible I go home or my parents come to visit me. Even the girls in boarding school help me a lot.
The first time you entered Vinovo… Do you remember?
It was a moment of pride, I think it’s the dream of many girls in Italy and around the world. Juve is the biggest club in Italy, there are few places available. I try to give my best day after day to deserve it. The facilities are beautiful: it is the ideal place to improve myself.
At school they say you do very well…
I like studying and learning new things, this year I’m graduating from school which scares me more than a game. Last year they gave an award to girls who performed well in school and performed well in the boarding school. I was awarded with Shara Grilo who is sharing my room with me this year.
How important is mentality in a footballer?
The mental part is the decisive one. Many girls are good at playing football with their feet and technique… But the final shock is in the head. You have to learn to handle the pressure on and off the pitch.
Cecilia Salvai said about you: ‘One who will have a great future is Eva Schatzer, a midfielder. She is not seen but she is seen’. What did she mean in your opinion?
I think he said it for my way of playing. I’m a midfielder, but I’m not a player who makes absurd plays that can be seen immediately from outside. It takes some time to notice me on the pitch. But then when you pay attention to my game you understand that I do simple but important things.
What relationship do you have with pressure?
I try not to put too much pressure on myself, even my family is calm with me. They never tell me to do or not to do something. If I get a better result but even if I don’t make it, it’s not a problem. Even the coaches I have here give me peace of mind on the pitch. When I feel it, I try to listen to music, relax and just think about playing football.
You go from being captain of the Primavera team to a young member of the First Team. How do you manage this dual role?
They are two very different roles. In the Spring they are a point of reference for the team. I try to give indications on the field and to include the ‘little ones’. That’s what they’re doing with me in the First Team, I’m very happy that the girls welcomed me right away. I get on well with them and with the coach. Sometimes it’s difficult but it’s a path that other girls from Primavera are also facing, we help each other. The biggest difference is the speed of play and thinking, with the big ones you don’t have those extra seconds to think about the game. You have to think before receiving the ball and always be ready to react.
You at Juve grew up with coach Silvia Piccini
She is a coach who has given me a lot in these two years. I came from the Under 17s with so many things to improve, I had to find my space on the pitch. With her I’ve always been the point guard in front of the defense, a role I feel comfortable in. She gave me confidence and allowed me to grow. Looking back on the two seasons I did with her, I’m very happy and I see a lot of progress.
‘Eva is the player who has grown the most this season’. Montemurro said it a few days ago: what do you feel improved in?
It is an honor to hear this sentence said by him. I’ve gotten better at playing more roles in midfield, at the start I was much more static in front of defence. With him I learned to turn around and understand myself better with the others, to be more offensive, to also look for a conclusion. He pays great attention to the midfield.
How are you experiencing the approach to this Final Four Scudetto?
One feels the importance of the event that awaits us. We are all preparing well and we are ready. This Scudetto would mean a lot to the club. It is the only trophy that women’s Juventus has never won. I have played in two finals that we lost against Roma. We have to do it this year because we have a strong team. If we give everything and play our game and we will win.
Would you like Roma again in a possible final?
If it happens yes, so we can get the rematch. But Milan are also strong this year.
What does that contract you recently signed mean to you?
I didn’t expect it at 18, I’m the youngest Juve player to have signed a professional contract. It has a very important value for me and has a meaning of trust and appreciation from the company. I’m glad the director is considering planning for the future with me.
What is your technical model as a soccer player?
I am inspired by Aitana Bonmatì from Barcelona, but even here at Juve I have many role models to follow. Of Pedersen I look at the position on the field and the balance, of Grosso and Caruso the offensive insertions; of Rosucci the personality she has on the pitch and the way she drags her teammates along; Cernoia is left-handed like me and I try to take inspiration from the free-kicks she delivers at the end of training.
Did any of them give you any useful advice?
Pedersen once told me that before receiving the ball I always have to be careful and watch my back to see if someone is coming from behind me and if I can open up or not. This is a very useful thing for a midfielder, I can buy the team a playing time. It is very useful advice.
What does Juventus mean to you?
Inclusion, family. When you enter Vinovo you feel that everyone has the same goal: to win. You feel part of something, a group, a family. It is an honor to be here and I will try to stay as long as possible.
How are you off the pitch?
I am a very quiet and quite reserved girl, even if I have opened up over the years. In my spare time I like listening to music, meeting friends and going home from time to time. I don’t have much between training, school and driving school.
Dreams?
I would like to play in the first team at Juve and become a player of European level and of the Italian national team. I’d like to win a Champions League with Juve and maybe a World Cup with Italy.
Thanks to Eva Schatzer and the Juventus press office for the availability shown during this interview
