D’Avino: “Wearing the number #10 is a privilege and a responsibility”

Ida D'Avino, born in 2001, joined Venice in the 2021/22 season. After an unlucky start due to a serious injury suffered in training camp, which kept her off the pitch until November 2021, D'Avino soon found her place among the Lagoon players, of which she became a regular pillar in midfield.

“I grew up living and breathing football, playing in the courtyard of my building with my cousins. My passion proved strong right from the start, to the delight of my father, who immediately enrolled me in a football school, despite initial resistance from my mother, who has now become my most ardent fan. After gaining my first experience in the men's teams in Campania, at the age of 12 I moved to a women's team for the first time and, after hard work, I reached Serie B with Pomigliano before arriving here in the lagoon. The Venezia project is ambitious: the ownership provides a lot of resources for us girls, which is a real privilege in an environment that has made a lot of progress, but whose path is still uphill.

At Venezia, as in all the teams I have played in up until now, I have always worn the number 10, with all the mystique and responsibility that comes with this choice. My characteristics as a player correspond to the football tradition of this jersey: I have always focused a lot on technique and I am inspired by players like Stanislav Lobotka and Luka Modrić, whom I consider to be my models. As a Neapolitan, I can only think with emotion of the great pages of football history that Maradona wrote with this number on his shoulders.

My path at Venezia has been characterised by difficult moments and wonderful satisfactions: after my serious injury in the summer of 2021, I managed to get back on track. In the league we didn't get the results we hoped for this season, but we are driven by determination and the desire to do well, in Serie C as in the Coppa Italia, which will see us involved in the semi-finals. The strength of this team lies in the hard work and the wonderful environment we have created in the locker room: the friendship away from the field brings us harmony during the game, and if one of us is in difficulty, we always know how to find the right word to help her.”