Edited by. Francis Bass - Student Sports Press Officer Course by Sport Business Academy
Passion, courage and willpower. And a great desire to overcome one's limits without ever giving up, even when everything seems to be rowing against you. This is the story of Danila Zazzera, the very young soccer player of Fiorentina who has just returned to the field after a very delicate heart operation.
Last round of the championship of Women's A Series, Fiorentina beat San Marino 2-1 and condemned it to relegation. With nine minutes to go came the moment that sealed victory for everyone, regardless of jersey. Fiorentina coach Antonio Cincotta inserts 1998 class striker Danila Zazzera, who then returns to the field after a very complicated open-heart surgery that had kept her away from sports activities for almost a year.
Heart surgery
Brought up in Inter's youth sector, Danila had moved to Fiorentina with the intention of erasing an anonymous season in the Sassuolo. For Zazzera, this is thus the third experience in the purple after the interludes he experienced from 2016 to 2018 and in the 2018-2019 season. Lightning from a clear sky, on July 30, 2020, however, comes the news that turns her life upside down: after her doctor had previously identified a possible abnormality in her right coronary artery, resulting in medical examinations in Rome, the player was told she would need open-heart surgery. An obstacle that very often marks the terminus of thecompetitive activities of an athlete, and which forced Danila to face an infinitely tougher game than playing on a soccer field.
The double rebirth
Danila's talent, which had allowed her to make her Serie A debut at just 16 years old, already seemed on the verge of waning. Instead, after more than ten months of rehabilitation, Zazzera made it: the summary of this long battle now won is summed up in that word, "fit," which decrees not only the end of the nightmare but also the double rebirth, of the woman and the female soccer player.
And so, for the young striker Those nine minutes against San Marino represent a kind of return to life. With so many trophies yet to be won, and so many goals to be scored. Because Danila's heart, which has already won its most important challenge, is ready to beat even faster.
