The midfielder announces his retirement: “I would like them to remember me as someone who never looked for tricks or shortcuts. My advice? Be patient: it takes time to become good”
It’s over, now officially too. “I had already decided for a while, but I didn’t feel the need to say it,” he says Giacomo Bonaventura. Now the time has come to say it: Jack has stopped playing football. At 36 years old, after 380 games in Serie A with Atalanta, Milan and Fiorentina, after having also tasted Saudi Arabia, after the national team.
“I knew I had stopped, but I started receiving calls from friends, my agent and some companies: it seemed right to let everyone know”.
What makes a footballer understand that he has stopped?
“When you no longer feel the fire inside. That’s the moment. There’s no point in continuing to play, dragging on and no longer having fun. When I started feeling all this I made the decision.”
Was there even a moment on the pitch?
“No, I felt good there until the end. In fact, I think I could play for another year or two. At the same time, however, I wouldn’t want to lower my level, maybe play in a team I don’t feel comfortable with. I prefer it this way: I have three children, I have a lot to do at home too.”
When was Jack the best?
“I think the first or second year with Milan. However, I also had flashes of it with Atalanta and Fiorentina. It’s difficult to say a period: maybe when you’re younger you’re more unscrupulous, even physically, but then with experience you become a better player. Between the ages of 30 and 32 I felt more confident.”
A shirt to be remembered with?
“I played a lot with Atalanta, Milan and Fiorentina: it’s difficult to say one. I spent more at Milan: six years, perhaps I’m a little more attached to it. Atalanta and Fiorentina too, however, in their own way, were experiences that made me grow a lot.”
The national team is the greatest satisfaction. Perhaps I will take the coaching course: in terms of character it seems like the most suitable role for me
Best moment on the pitch?
“The debut in Serie A. I didn’t believe it much: I played in the Primavera, every now and then I trained with the first team, but when I made my debut in Serie A I began to believe that perhaps I could have a career”.
The coach you are most attached to?
“Italiano and Colantuono are the ones I was with for the longest time, 3 years each: they are the ones who taught me a lot, who gave me the most in terms of knowledge. But I had about 20 coaches: I tried to take the good things from each one.”
A moment that changed your career?
“There wasn’t one particular moment, but many, good or not, that taught me something. In your career you shouldn’t let yourself be influenced too much: you have to go forward on your own path, with your way of working and your way of thinking. The result is a consequence of who you are, how you train and how you do your job.”
Jack in the field told by Jack?
“Worker. In sport you can only achieve something if you put in dedication, commitment and everything you have. Other roads lead to nothing.”
What was Jack like in the locker room?
“A fairly calm one. When I was younger I tried to learn from the more experienced. From the age of 26-28 I began to feel more confident in myself, also to deal with situations in the locker room and lend a hand to the younger ones. And in the second part of my career I brought out my character a little more.”
How does he want to be remembered?
“As a football fan, who worked hard trying to give his best, without shortcuts or tricks. I have always tried to do my best.”
Italiano and Colantuono are the ones I spent the longest time with, 3 years each: they are the ones who taught me a lot
Best advice received?
“In football you have to have patience, have faith in the process because you don’t become a good player in two seconds: it takes time. And then maybe it all comes suddenly, after years of work. When you’re young maybe you want everything right away and this can be a mistake.”
Have you given this advice to anyone?
“In recent years I have always talked to younger kids, those who perhaps didn’t yet know how to react to certain situations. When you are more experienced, I think that the most important thing with young people, more than talking, is to set the right example.”
“There are many good players in Italy, young people who are growing. I like watching midfielders, how they play and how they are on the pitch. I think that in Italy there are several good ones, perhaps at the moment at the top of their careers. I think of Tonali and Barella: they are extraordinary players who can still give a lot to football and to the national team.”
The plans now that he’s stopped?
“I want to be with my family and understand what gives me the incentive to do something. Then we’ll see.”
What if he were to stay in football?
“While I was playing I often told myself that as soon as I stopped I would become a coach. However, now that I no longer play I no longer have the same desire, even if I feel that it is slowly returning to me. Maybe I will take the coaching course: it seems like the most suitable role for me, in terms of character. I don’t see myself much as a manager or agent.”
A satisfaction and a regret?
“The greatest satisfaction was playing for the national team: it’s every boy’s dream when he starts playing football. I don’t have any regrets, I’ve always given everything. And even the things during a career that don’t go as you would like, I’ve tried to capitalize on those too to grow and become a better player and person.”
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