10 Things to Know about Elena Linari!

Here are 10 things to know about Elena Linari!

1. Elena Linari was born on April 15 in 1994 in Fiesole, just outside of Florence, where she would also start her professional career.

2. Discovering football at the age of five, she joined Atletica Castello in 1999, before moving to S.C. Desolati in 2004.

3. Having moved to A.C.F. Firenze in 2007, she was promoted to the first team at the age of just 14. She did those in a short span of time, rising through the ranks and different youth categories, establishing herself as a defender.

4. She played a total of five seasons in Florence: two of those in the second tier, before winning promotion to the Serie A in May 2010. In the next three years she played in 65 games, scoring five goals, and also helped the youth team win their championship in June 2013.

5. After that she made the move to Brescia Calcio Femminile, and immediately established herself as a key part of the team. In three years she collected 70 appearances and three goals – with 29 of those coming in the 2012-13 season, where the team won the Scudetto. The following season Brescia continued its success, adding an Italian Cup and Supercup to their trophy case. Her last year was the most rewarding though, as Brescia won the treble, coming out on top in the league, Supercup and Italian Cup.

6. Elena then returned home to Florence in 2016, winning another two Italian Cups and Fiorentina’s first Scudetto, outlasting her previous team, Brescia. It was also her best goal-scoring period, as the defender tallied 13 goals over two seasons.

7. After playing in Italy, Elena decided to test her skills abroad, and joined Atletico Madrid in 2018, finding success in her first season in Spain. Her team won the league as Elena recorded 16 appearances and one goal.

8. A proud member of the national team, she made her debut for the Azzurre in 2013, after getting her first call-up with the Under-17 side in 2009.

9. She was part of the Italian side at both the Euros in 2017 and the 2019 World Cup in France, in which the Azzurre made it to the quarter-finals. Linari started both knockout games.

10. She has two nicknames: Talpina (Moley) -given to her by teammate Cecilia Salvai because she is short sighted - and Linus. “That was given to me years ago by [Italy coach] Antonio Cabrini’s assistant. There’s no particular reason but I liked it a lot from the start. So much so that my mum calls me that to this day!”