With the Monday match against Bologna, Michele Bordiga, a wingback born in 2004, tasted again a satisfaction that has been missing for the last six months: “I’m glad to have reclaimed my spot in the line-up after having battled all last season with both minor ailments and more serious injuries, the last of which happened in April and not only did it keep me away from the pitch in the closing matches of the previous campaign but also dragged on at the beginning of this year too.”
His last time in a Primavera line-up dates back to last year’s road game against Hellas Verona. Since then, Michele went to hell and back behind the scenes in order to get back on the pitch as a protagonist. After his first minutes against Cagliari and Milan as budding signs that his hard work paid off, he finally made it on the sheet at his third seasonal appearance: “Now I only wish to be able to keep doing my share for the team. I’ve truly missed all this: finally being able to hit the pitch together with my teammates again, in our debut in Alzano no less, was a nice change of pace. The mindfulness of finally being able to shrug off all my injuries is both a real panacea and the just reward to all the work that both Atalanta’s medical staff and I have put in, day in and day out, in the last months: I can’t help but acknowledge everything Roberto Calà, who has been following my recovery since the beginning of the year together with the athletic trainer Emanuele Vit, has done to streamline my comeback on the pitch. It was a tough job but we finally made it. I also wish to acknowledge the support that both my family and my girlfriend Gioia gave me every step of the way: their closeness both cushioned the blow and spurred me to never give up. While my past record showed a certain proneness to injury, I always saw them as an incentive for my mental fortitude as they taught me to never throw the towel and to do whatever it takes to pursue my dreams and my passion”.
Not only did Michele’s passion for football start young; but it was a family matter no less: “My father Antonio was a footballer too: namely he was a striker who also played in the Italian Serie C for Orceana. Plus, my grandfather, Bonifacio Quarantini, was a coach. It was them who passed their passion for football down on me. When I was a toddler, I used to kick whatever I could get my feet on: balloons, crumpled sheets of paper, rocks, you name it! After breaking the odd vase here and there at home, I was gifted a foam ball”.
Native of Erbusco, in the province of Brescia, Michele is now part of the furniture in Zingonia: “I’m now entering my 13th season here: I played for my parish youth club first and then at Montorfano Rovato before entering the Academy as a Peewee player and rising through its ranks all the way to the Primavera except for a loan spell at FeralpiSalò aged 14 that helped me grow and put precious playing time in my locker. Atalanta have rightfully become like a second family and a place to call home for me. I still recall my first trials back when I was a mere child and the joy and happiness I felt when my father shared Atalanta’s call-up with me. I’m an only child, my parents have always been there for me and have made many sacrifices for my dreams”.
A lifetime as a Nerazzurro, always up and down the wing: “While I started as a defender, as soon as I took up 9-a-side football, I was then moved up and became a winger. Once I turned to regular 11-a-side football, I finally found my place as a wingback, being pace my main strength. Let’s say that rushing up and down the wing was in the cards for me. On the other hand, whenever we take part in joined training sessions of training matches with the first team, I can’t take my eyes off anyone, not just my senior counterparts: I think that each and every one of them is an example in his own way; each capable of teaching different lessons as far as technique, commitment and working ethos are concerned”.
Outside the pitch, aside from being a renowned fashion addict (“I have a penchant for fashion, a rather whimsical style and shoes are my guilty pleasure: I do not simply collect sneakers, I truly hoard them!”), Michele does not neglect his studies: “Last year I graduated from the scientific high school. Being able to finish school, with a good final mark too, was a great satisfaction: being sports my passion, I’ve just enrolled in a Sports Science online degree. I’m planning to take my first exams between November and December: foreign languages, sports physiology and, perhaps, sports methodology. Being able to balance between football and my studies in order to have a “Plan B” of sorts is on top of my pecking order”.
