Genoa – He loves his Finland and he loves Italy. He fights for the salvation of Sampdoria and studies to be a sports manager. She is a friend of Fabio Borini and dotes on her captain Stefania Tarenzi. She is Nora Heroum from Helsinki, 29 years old, first a midfielder, then a defender and now a midfielder again. Sitting on a bench at 3 Campanili, the Finn talks about being illuminated by the sun and her dazzling smile.
How’s life with the Sampdoria team?
“Very good. Sampdoria is my fourth Italian team: after Brescia, Milan and Parma it is the first time I have played on the sea. Having this view every day, even from the field, strikes me.”
She was Sampdoria’s first summer signing: weren’t you afraid when the future of the women’s team was in doubt?
“No. Director Palmieri and Mister Mango convinced me. I chose Sampdoria before the risk of disappearing arose but even after that I always believed that we would play in Serie A. I had already done some training with the girls before August, I found a fantastic group and I would never have left it.”
She arrived as a defender, she is working as a midfielder.
“I have always played in the middle, I moved to defense at Milan. Mango, after the first training sessions, told me: “But you’re not a defender, you’re a midfielder.” And I: he’s a real mister. And so she put me back there and I exchanged roles with Cecilia Re, who moved back. I believe in salvation: we are a real team, we grow every day. With Mango there is a nice human feeling: he goes out of his way for us.”
But you also do something else besides playing, right?
“Yes, I study. I graduated in Business and Sport Management and now I have had the honor of being admitted to a UEFA master’s degree to become a sports manager at European level. The idea is to create managers who have been athletes and I find it very right. We need more and more athletes and more and more women in important roles in sport because there are few of them. When I stop playing I want to stay in women’s football to help it grow, there is great potential, I see progress but many other improvements to be made. Women always have to prove something more than men, for us it is less easy to stay in football at the end of our careers.”
How do you think you can help your movement?
“We often talk about reducing the gap with men’s football but I believe it is also important to understand the peculiarities of women’s football, valorising it as a different brand to promote and spread it. Just look at the fans: even in Finland, where women’s football is very popular, there are mostly families and children in the stands, so you have to offer something that is suitable for them.”
Why did you choose football?
“I started with my brother and his friends but I was better than him and so I continued. I’m the only one in the family who plays football at a professional level, and I’m in the national team, I dreamed of it as a child when I admired our number 10, Laura Kalmari”
Here he found two Scandinavian companions.
“Yes, the Finnish goalkeeper Karreesma and the Swedish striker Sondergaard, they are younger, I help them. I met Lotjonen, the Primavera defender, we will soon organize a dinner with Finnish food. And then I’m friends with Borini.”
When did you meet him?
“When I was at Milan, I had a good relationship with him, his wife Erin and little Stella, a fantastic family. Fabio is strong as a footballer but as a man he is even stronger: humility, open minded, he has great respect for women’s football, it intrigues him. And I support him and the men’s Sampdoria.”
He is the leader of Pirlo’s team: and who is he in yours?
“Stefania Tarenzi is a true captain, she helps everyone, she has a strong character. I have never found a united group like at Sampdoria, she is special.”
At Milan he also met Marta Carissimi, manager of Genoa Women.
“She played with me, she’s a friend and she was an excellent footballer. We haven’t met yet, I hope to play the derby soon, but in Serie A obviously.”
In the past she said she relied on a mental coach.
“Yes, it’s important, I work a lot on the head: the mind must be nourished like the body. We have one available in the national team that we can always contact, it helps me a lot. And then before the races I like to study the rivals.”
Finland is the homeland of Santa Claus: what do we ask him?
“To score a lot of points between now and December. We won the direct clashes, now we would like to beat a big team, we came close and we will try again against Milan. We are ready”.
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