JESOLO (VENICE) – He was about to score, but he realized that a player from the other team was down and he wasn’t well: ha left the ball there and ran to his “colleague” to make sure of his condition. A gesture of fair play that is difficult to see on Serie A pitches, let alone on the outskirts. And even more so if the protagonist is a child alone eight years who has demonstrated that he has well understood what the real priorities of life are, not caring about the possible marking.
Last April 25th the “Jesolo Tournament – Sesto memorial Fregonese – first kicks category 2015” was held in which the Venetian team Sacca Fisola. The young red and whites were playing one of the matches against a team from the Treviso area, Il Saint Helena, when one of the little players on the pitch passed the ball to his teammate, but hit an opponent squarely at the pit of his stomach. The child collapsed to the ground, but in the meantime the ball had landed on his feet Niccolo Battistuzzo who thus found himself all alone in front of the opponent’s goal. It would have been an easy goal, except that the Venetian turned around, saw his opponent on the ground, stopped the ball and left it there and ran towards him together with all his teammates to make sure he was okay.
Nothing serious, fortunately, for the little athlete from Sant’Elena, but the gesture made by Battistuzzo is somehow reminiscent of what Di Canio did when he played for West Ham. On that occasion the goalkeeper was injured and when he received the pass from his teammate, the number 10 of the English team stopped the game by taking the ball with his hands to help the player in difficulty. Unfortunately, all sorts of things can be heard from the suburban fields. Parents who rant at the referees, punches and kicks between opponents, player suspensions lasting up to months, teams withdrawing from the championships in protest. This time, however, a signal comes from Sacca Fisola, a small reality on the island of Giudecca, in Venice, that something good can be taught to children, starting with respect and education.
Lino Garbisi, the club’s sporting director, reconstructs what happened: «As soon as we saw the episode, all of us adults made sure that the opponent was fine, then we said well done to our kids who had run to the injured player, starting with Niccolò, who could have scored but instead stopped.” The manager clarifies that these are precisely the values that the club tries to instill in young people: «For us it is essential that the kids have fun, but at the same time the locker room is a way to learn to respect each other and be together with each other. It’s a small civil society within a group where everyone has to try to do their best. This is why, in our opinion, everyone should play. There must be room for everyone to take turns, because sport at these ages must first of all teach education, respect and that life is not just about scoring goals.”
The episode was an understandable reason for pride for parents, Roberto Battistuzzo and Manuela Reghelini, who explain: «It is very pleasing that an eight-year-old child had the sensitivity to stop, in what was their first tournament, demonstrating a true altruistic spirit». Mother’s Heart takes the opportunity to explain that the child is always like this: «He is a very good little boy, kind-hearted, cheerful, kind. I’m not someone who gives a lot of compliments, except when he deserves them. But when the school teachers tell me that he is polite and good, then I have already won.”
Returning to the gesture, Manuela Reghelini concludes: «It came spontaneously to him, he explained to me that he wanted to make sure that his opponent was well and that the “grown-ups” were sure of it». Coach Alessandro Fae was also happy: «he stopped and left the ball there, it was a really nice gesture, these are the values we try to convey».
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