Giorgio Chiellini says his best footballing memory was lifting the European Championship with the Azzurri in 2021. The former Juventus and Italy captain decided to call time on his career yesterday, having played his final match in the MLS Cup final with LAFC. Speaking with Sky Sport Italia, he recounted some of the high points of his career, including the memorable final at Wembley with the national team:
“I’m fine, serene. In the end I’m happy to have come to my own choice. I’ve lived beautiful, unforgettable years, but I felt inside me that the time was right. I enjoyed myself until the end. I have many memories, many emotions, certainly a lot of pride for what I did and managed to say. I was pleased to receive so many tokens of friendship.
“Not even in his wildest dreams could young Giorgio have imagined playing like this, he would have been happy just to play for Livorno and instead he managed to do so much more. The thing I’ve kept from when I was a child is the passion, I had fun until the last game three days ago. And paradoxically I’ve had much more fun in recent years, because I’ve reached a maturity and I’ve enjoyed every moment with much less tension and pressure than in the years before, enjoying every pass and victory, but also every defeat.
“The best memory here is the one with the Azzurri jersey, it’s inevitable that it was the peak of my career for me especially after I had broken my knee in 2019. Being able to win the European Championship as captain, at the age of 37, was something incredible.”
