Every team is a business: Giorgio Chiellini and the leadership formula

At the start of your career you were mainly a left flanker, then you switched to central. The rest is history... I had already played a bit as a central defender at the time of Livorno (at the age of 12 he entered the youth team of the Tuscan club with which he would make his professional debut at the age of 16 in the 2000/01 season, ndr.) But it was a bit of a hybrid role, between lateral and central.

How was your arrival at Juventus in the 2005/06 season? Among the defenders in the team there were sacred monsters like Thuram, Cannavaro and Zambrotta. I tried to study them, observing how they moved to improve qualities that I never had at a technical, physical and game-reading level. It was a great gym and a great teaching.

Chiellini festeggia con Bonucci un gol in maglia azzurra. EPA/Ettore Ferrari

From 2006/07 you became a permanent central defender... I had a more experienced ward mate, Nicola Legrottaglie, who helped me a lot in the beginning. We always complemented each other, compared and improved each other by working together a lot on our matches. And then, of course, I always watched a lot of videos of my opponents.

Apponents who have been all the strongest strikers of your era: the most difficult to mark? The toughest and most challenging was always Ibrahimovic. We are talking about a striker who was 1.95 metres tall, weighed about 100 kg and had the technique of a juggler. The first time I faced him I was 20 years old and he was 23: he was in his prime, also physically.

In the 2011/12 season, the first in the era of the nine consecutive championships you won with Juventus, the BBC was officially born, an epoch-making defensive wall made up of you Barzagli and Bonucci. Not forgetting that you were joined by Buffon.... What memories do you have of that partnership? It was certainly a wonderful story. Not only on a footballing level, but also on a human level. We are still very close, even though we no longer play together. Ours is a relationship that goes far beyond that. Together we managed to bring out the best in each other, contributing to an era of victories and performances that will be remembered, even though we may not have been on the same level as the champions of the past or of our time who, individually, had more quality. Except, of course, Gigi, who for me is the strongest goalkeeper in history.

How do you get to play at a high level for over 20 years? I've always been very balanced and never let myself lack anything. I went through all the experiences that teenagers, 20, 25 or 30-year-olds go through. As soon as I arrived in Turin, I had the good fortune to meet an older brother like Giuliano Giannichedda (Juventus midfielder in the 2005-6 and 2006-7 seasons, ndr.) He taught me a lot about the right behaviour to have.

Did you have a routine? No, because as it happens in life, things change over the years. The older you get, the more importance and responsibility you have within a group, the more things you have to do. I stopped at the age of 39, and throughout my career the priority was always just to play football. If you do this job you must never forget that, taking care of your life in function of that.

As captain you won the Euro 2020 in 2021 with the national team. What memories do you have of that expedition? On a personal level it was the closing of a circle. I had broken my knee in 2019 and couldn't recover well. I had started playing steadily again in January 2021 and for me it was a really exciting experience: we were good and sometimes lucky, but we all had the feeling that we could do something important.

Da capitano, in azione con la Juventus nella stagione 2018/19. ANSA/ANDREA DI MARCO

You are also a brand ambassador for the watchmaker Breitling. How did you become one? It was Gianluca Vialli who had put my name forward to the Italian management and who had collaborated with the Vialli-Mauro foundation (involved in ALS and cancer research, ed.) for various events with the brand. I have always been a watch enthusiast and immediately found myself part of a small family.

Your favourite model of the brand? The Premier which is also a bit more elegant. But also the Navitimer. The brand's history is long and important in sport, aviation, motors...

Last curiosity: given the historical rivalry between the two cities, what is it like to be from Livorno but born in Pisa? It is more common than you think! I was born there because both my father and my aunt worked at the hospital in Pisa. In the end, the distance between the two cities is about 20 minutes... I'm sorry, though, that I never got to play a derby....