Women's Euros - Cristiana Girelli: The Italian 'Chef' putting her teammates at ease with comfort food and crucial goals

Off the football pitch, Italian striker Cristiana Girelli is known for cooking up a storm in the kitchen.

But on the pitch, the ‘Chef’ – as her teammates sometimes call her – will be hoping to find the perfect recipe for success this summer.

The prolific forward will have her sights set on leading Le Azzurre to European greatness and grow on what they achieved at the FIFA women's World Cup in 2019.

After failing to qualify on four consecutive occasions, reaching the quarter-finals three years ago was a welcomed progress check for the Italians.

On the contrary, however, reaching that significant stage in the European Championships has been somewhat of an achilles heel for this talented side.

The last time they were able to make it beyond that point was in 1997.

But taking inspiration from Gli Azzurri’s winning Euros campaign last summer could provide the ideal springboard for these players to bring home silverware to Italy once again.

And Girelli is sure to be at the heart of everything they do come July.

Swapping football boots for chef aprons

When she's not busy breaking records with Juventus, Girelli enjoys swapping jerseys for chef aprons in her spare time.

“She loves cooking, so I think she’s always at the stove,” said teammate Lisa Boattin, in an interview with DAZN.

“Sometimes we tell her ‘come on Cristiana, whip up something’ [and] sometimes we call her ‘Chef’, because you can see it’s a big interest for her.

The Juventus forward admits that she ‘likes cooking for friends.’

“When we organise an evening together, I’m normally in charge of the menu.

“I’m the one who makes the food - well, does the cooking!”

But when she is on her own, Girelli admits that “as an athlete, you have to eat carefully.”

Girelli in the words of her teammates

In a dominant team full of big personalities, both at club and international level, Girelli is a standout player and person.

And while Barbara Bonansea reveals that she can be quite the sore loser, off the pitch “she is very sweet.”

“She probably keeps competitiveness in store for matches,” adds Bonansea.

Arianna Caruso says Girelli is ‘so funny’: “If I’m walking next to Cristiana I’ll laugh no matter what she says.”

“She’s silly, she’s a laugh, she’s really funny,” reiterates Boattin.

While she is busy making teammates laugh off the pitch, Girelli is all business as soon as she steps onto the field.

“Besides [being] a technical player on the pitch, in my opinion when you see that you have a striker like her, you feel more at ease playing,” says Bonansea.

“She makes all her teammates more at ease.”

And according to Caruso, having Girelli in the Juventus team is a guarantee because “we know that sooner or later in the 90 minutes, she’ll score.”

The stats speak for themselves, as the 2020 Serie A Female Footballler of the Year became the first Juventus player to score 50 goals for the club – multiple of which came in crucial moments.

And that form has been mirrored for country, with 46 goals in 78 caps.

All three of Caruso, Bonansea, and Boattin are in contention to line up for Italy at the Euros – and just like for Juventus, there will be a sense of ease knowing Girelli could be leading the line for them.

Girelli: Following in the footsteps of football hero Del Piero

For Girelli, playing for Juventus is a “dream that became a reality,” she told Goal.com.

Not only is she dominating at the club she grew up supporting, but she also gets to emulate the legacy her footballing idol – Alessandro Del Piero – put in place.

The two of them sported the same number 10 on the back of the shirt, but possessed the same pride for the badge on the front of it.

“I think every time he touched the ball, he created something special that maybe other players cannot,” said Girelli.

“I was captured by him.”

There is an old saying that warns people to never meet their idols; Girelli, however, had other plans.

“I met him [Del Piero] during a national team camp, but in the World Cup in France, after my hat-trick against Jamaica, he sent me a video message.

“From that moment, we kept in contact on Instagram. Sometimes he says congratulations.

“It’s amazing for me.”

In July, however, Girelli has the chance to write her own history away from her hero.

She can do something he did not achieve: lead her country to a European title.