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00:00 If you had to tell me what Milan is to you now, what comes to your mind?
00:06 I'd say it's family.
00:10 I think it's a club that brought me up, that made me become a man.
00:14 I'm growing a lot.
00:16 I think family is the best word to describe this club.
00:24 Homegrown brings you to places where the Milan guys started playing football.
00:30 In this case, very young guys like Kevin Zeroli, class 2005,
00:33 captain of the Primavera, who a few years ago started here, behind me,
00:37 at the Sante Eduardo Ovatorio, in Busto Arsizio, in the Ardor team,
00:41 starting with his brother Brian, but then he took his own path,
00:44 his path that led him to become a player of the first Milan team,
00:48 with his debut against Sassuolo.
00:50 But before we see all this, before we go to Milanello, let's start here.
00:54 I want you to tell me, since you're really a homegrown,
01:07 you grew up here since you were a kid,
01:09 you didn't wear any other shirt.
01:11 Tell me a little bit about how you got to Milan,
01:14 that famous episode of your brother Brian's audition,
01:17 which then became a bit yours.
01:19 I spent a few months in a team of the Oratorio,
01:22 of Busto Arsizio, Ardor Busto.
01:24 I played in a team with my brother.
01:26 An observer from Milan called my brother to audition,
01:29 but he was a shy boy.
01:31 Malvis Mara, this one?
01:32 Yes, yes, always Malvis Mara, yes.
01:33 He was a shy boy.
01:35 And then the coach, who was Andrea Biffi and Massimiliano Sorgato,
01:40 asked me to cheer him up a bit, to make him have some fun.
01:45 And then I started to play two or three balls with him
01:48 and the coach asked me, "Do you want to come and audition tomorrow?"
01:51 I said, "OK."
01:52 And then they took me.
01:54 How old was he?
01:56 Five years old.
01:57 When did you first remember Kevin with the ball in his foot?
02:04 Let's start with your dad.
02:05 When he was five years old.
02:07 No, even before that.
02:09 My uncle started to make him play at home,
02:11 my uncle came to my house and that's when it all started.
02:16 Since there was a karate gym near our house,
02:21 we signed him up because he wanted to try it.
02:25 His brother was playing ball in the meantime,
02:27 because his brother is two years older.
02:29 In the meantime, he was playing ball and in the end he decided to follow his brother's path.
02:34 He would come in, maybe he would play with me, he would do some moves with me.
02:40 So you brought him luck, let's say, at the beginning of the journey.
02:43 Yes, exactly. His team in 2005 wasn't there yet.
02:48 Because he was too young.
02:49 Exactly.
02:50 My brother was a very lively boy when he was little.
02:53 Now he's grown up and everything,
02:56 he's calmed down a bit, but he's still a lively boy.
02:59 As a mother, I was interested to know what emotions you have
03:08 when you think about Kevin, a little boy, a little boy,
03:11 who goes to Milan with a ball in his hands to try it.
03:14 At first, no one expected him to get there like that.
03:18 At first, it was just for fun.
03:21 Maybe it's something he likes, his thing, I don't know.
03:26 But he was committed.
03:28 Then, what's nice about him, if he can do what his coach told him to do,
03:33 he takes the ball back, goes back and does it again.
03:37 He's stubborn, until he manages to...
03:38 He's like, "Mum, do it like this!"
03:40 And then he does it again.
03:41 When he was little, he was very lively.
03:44 He was terrible, when he was little, he was terrible.
03:47 They would fight, and when he was older, he was calmer.
03:53 But he was very...
03:54 Unbridled.
03:55 Unbridled, yes, unbridled.
03:58 But outside, he was very polite.
04:00 But he was always loved by everyone.
04:05 You've had a lot of coaches over the years.
04:08 You started with the Puccini, now you're the captain of the Primavera.
04:11 We'll talk about your debut later, in the first team.
04:14 Tell me something a coach or a period that you remember as fundamental for you,
04:19 even a category you grew up in.
04:21 Definitely Andrea Biffi and Marino Magrin.
04:26 They were great years, I had a lot of fun.
04:29 I was little, but I really liked the way I played.
04:34 I enjoyed it a lot, I had fun.
04:36 I liked to jump over the man, aim at the opponent, fake.
04:40 Those were years of tournaments, especially between Puccini and Sordienti.
04:43 I know there were some commentators who made fun of your tricks,
04:47 about how similar you were to Gullit.
04:49 Yes, every now and then, when we went to tournaments abroad,
04:52 in Vienna or Spain, there were some commentators
04:56 who said "Gullit's son" or even opponents, parents.
05:00 He was definitely a great player.
05:03 I'm happy that they compared me to him, but there's a big difference.
05:08 He would be a great role model.
05:10 Speaking of idols, I know that one of the main ones is Bellingham,
05:14 but he's only two years older than you.
05:16 Tell me what kind of player you liked, even in your childhood,
05:20 who you followed.
05:21 When I was little, I liked Iniesta a lot.
05:23 Because when I was little, my father showed me Iniesta's videos.
05:27 He showed me a lot of videos.
05:29 I liked his personality, the way he played, the touch of the ball.
05:34 Now, as I'm growing up, I know I'm a few years older,
05:38 but Bellingham is a player I'm inspired by.
05:41 He has a lot of characteristics that belong to me.
05:45 But there's a big difference, I know I have to grow a lot.
05:49 The period of conviction.
05:52 I think it was a clear distinction for you too.
05:55 It wasn't so far away compared to the guys who go to other parts of Europe,
05:59 other parts of Italy, but still, a distinction when a guy is at home.
06:03 How did you experience it?
06:04 But not just for us, also for the neighbors.
06:07 Because there was an old lady who lives here.
06:11 Because he, as I said before, my husband, was really lively.
06:16 So when he's at home, everyone knows.
06:20 So when he goes to work...
06:21 You could tell he was absent.
06:23 Yes, so you could tell.
06:25 Then he starts to shout, "Where's the son?"
06:29 Because at first I didn't even understand what it was.
06:33 And then later he says, "No, he's not here."
06:37 Because he's away.
06:38 I say, "But he's fine, because he thinks he's sick."
06:42 He was worried.
06:43 He was worried.
06:44 Then we said he wasn't here anymore.
06:46 Yes, maybe in the first few weeks you felt a little lack.
06:50 Because he was so lively.
06:52 Then slowly, we got used to it.
06:55 He often came home on Friday, knowing that he was close.
06:59 He felt more at ease.
07:01 Carini got a guest who was 14 years old, so he was a teenager,
07:05 and he had to start high school.
07:07 It wasn't always easy.
07:09 There were some more complicated moments and moments of incomprehension,
07:13 as is normal at that age.
07:15 But he was always very polite,
07:17 he always accepted our decisions without ever giving in.
07:21 This is because Kevin is an extremely respectful boy.
07:24 If I think back to his early years, I can say that they were a crescendo.
07:29 This year, which is also the last,
07:32 and it was not expected that it would be like this,
07:34 because he turned 18 last year,
07:37 he finished school,
07:39 and yes, we made him take home his high school diploma,
07:42 and then he lives in August.
07:44 So he could decide to go back to his family, to go back home.
07:49 But in agreement with his parents,
07:52 we thought that spending another year in the conviction
07:56 could be a good solution for him.
07:59 He was really capable this year.
08:01 He understood how to reconcile the lightness and freshness
08:05 of being a 19-year-old boy with how much is asked of him,
08:10 how much is asked of his role.
08:13 I am really very, very proud of him.
08:16 I am convinced that he will continue this maturation path
08:20 even outside the conviction,
08:22 because he now has all the means, he has acquired all the means to do it,
08:25 and he will really do it.
08:27 [Music]
08:32 I think the most emotional moment was that December day
08:37 when he entered the San Siro pitch for the first time,
08:39 with that shirt you can take, which is close to you.
08:42 And passing it, just feeling it in your hands,
08:45 tell me how much pride, how much emotion there was that day
08:49 and in that threat alone.
08:51 I didn't believe it, I was shocked.
08:55 It's a beautiful thing,
08:58 to see the whole line-up of the youth sector
09:01 when he was five years old.
09:03 It was very emotional.
09:06 Then I got emotional, yes, a little.
09:09 I still get goosebumps thinking about it,
09:11 seeing those images.
09:13 How many times have you seen it?
09:15 Yes, many times, yes, of course.
09:19 Also before, when he went with them to America,
09:22 he played there too,
09:24 but there it was, my goodness.
09:27 Yes, perhaps the most emotional was when he was on television in America,
09:30 when he made the debut in America.
09:32 Yes, for you, though.
09:33 For me it was.
09:35 Actually, I thought it wouldn't even come to the first period.
09:38 Yes, it was the first period.
09:40 As he did with Giancarlo,
09:42 stop the memory for a moment, stop everything
09:44 and tell me, when you see Pioli calling you
09:47 to enter the pitch against Sassuolo,
09:49 at the end of December 30,
09:51 so at the end of 2023, what is it?
09:54 I was very nervous.
09:55 Certainly when the coach called me, Pioli,
09:58 I shook my legs a bit, honestly.
10:01 I got a little anxious,
10:03 but then once I got in,
10:05 I let it go and I let myself go.
10:08 Then, certainly,
10:10 to stand in front of all our fans,
10:12 in San Siro, it was amazing.
10:14 But of those moments,
10:15 is there something that you remember the most?
10:17 Because you stop your memory and you remember
10:19 maybe something you saw,
10:20 a word that they said to you,
10:22 is there something that comes to mind?
10:24 Kevin Vieri.
10:26 So, the precise words of the coach.
10:28 Yes, yes, yes.
10:29 And, precisely, the atmosphere,
10:31 the fact that the fans waited as they always do,
10:34 as if they were the children of the fans,
10:36 the young people from Primavera
10:37 who then debuted in the first team.
10:39 How much responsibility did you feel at that moment?
10:41 Once I got in, I remember
10:44 I didn't feel anything anymore,
10:46 I didn't understand anything anymore.
10:48 I felt maybe a few times Pioli shouting at me, but...
10:51 You only thought about the pitch.
10:52 Yes, it seemed to be inside a ball.
10:55 Even the fans, I didn't feel their hearts.
10:57 I only felt a "vvvvvvvvvvvv" and that's it.
11:00 Which is a very particular image you gave us,
11:03 but associated with the image I have of some of your teammates
11:06 on the pitch, that game,
11:08 some of your teammates who encouraged you,
11:10 the older ones who talked to you about the team,
11:12 about the first team.
11:13 What do you tell me?
11:14 Who did you find as an older brother,
11:16 who as a big brother, who as more serious?
11:18 Florenzi.
11:19 Florenzi...
11:20 He makes fun of you a lot.
11:22 Yes, he makes fun of me a lot,
11:24 maybe because of how I speak a little.
11:26 But he gives me a lot of advice, even Mike.
11:29 I'm happy for my brother.
11:31 Many people tell me,
11:33 "Maybe you're jealous of your brother."
11:35 I say, "No, absolutely not."
11:37 On the contrary.
11:38 And that's nice, because in the relationship,
11:40 having a close brother for him,
11:42 I imagine it's particularly important.
11:44 I imagine you talk a lot.
11:46 Yes, we talk a lot.
11:47 He asks for advice, I give him.
11:55 I won't say you were the youngest,
11:57 but you were in the first year, in the spring,
11:59 so you were discovering important dynamics
12:01 of European football at a young age.
12:03 You came back the following year
12:05 and became the team's captain,
12:07 because you fought with SIA for the whole season
12:09 to become our "bomber".
12:11 I ask you the main question,
12:13 if you have to tell me one, what comes to mind?
12:15 The semifinal with Porto.
12:17 When I got the ball back from the opponent,
12:20 the defender,
12:22 and then Ali scored.
12:24 I almost cried.
12:26 I must say, you deserved the emotional shock,
12:29 because everyone cried.
12:31 But I want to tell you about another step,
12:34 the penalties.
12:35 How is it possible?
12:36 Always a decisive penalty,
12:38 always yours.
12:39 What did you do?
12:40 Did you align the stars in those games?
12:43 I don't know, it had become a habit,
12:45 not a habit, but...
12:47 A nice habit.
12:49 I don't know how to explain it,
12:51 but it was beautiful.
12:53 Scoring the winning goal.
12:56 The particular thing was that we reached the fifth penalty.
12:59 It's difficult to keep it in series,
13:01 and you scored a decisive penalty.
13:03 It was really your penalty.
13:06 I always tried to free my head
13:09 from emotions, negative thoughts,
13:12 or any pressure.
13:14 I hit it calmly and tried to score.
13:17 How did you experience the final phase of the league,
13:19 in general, of the important games of this year?
13:21 I know you always followed it.
13:23 What did you think when it was on the disc?
13:25 I was a little anxious,
13:27 but inside I was sure I scored.
13:29 But also negative emotions, right?
13:33 I can see in your eyes that you still have that bitterness,
13:37 which is fair, because when you lose a final,
13:39 let's say a banality,
13:41 the finals are the ones that play,
13:43 so we've already arrived and it's a lot.
13:45 But also the feeling of negativity,
13:47 of bitterness, I think it can give you something
13:49 for your performance.
13:51 Yes, losing a final is never nice,
13:53 but I think the most important thing
13:55 is to get to the final,
13:57 play it, and not have regrets.
13:59 I gave everything,
14:01 and I think my teammates gave everything,
14:03 and we have no regrets at all.
14:07 The parenthesis I ask you in closing
14:13 of this part is about Abate,
14:15 because he was not a coach like the others.
14:17 We were talking before about your role,
14:19 which has changed a bit.
14:21 You have always been a midfielder,
14:23 a midfielder, a runner, all over the pitch.
14:25 You have become a modern three-quarters
14:27 at Bellingham, let's say,
14:29 to get you motivated.
14:31 What was fundamental for you?
14:33 Abate has changed me
14:35 in terms of mentality.
14:37 He made me grow on the goal,
14:39 on the importance of scoring,
14:41 of scoring goals.
14:43 I think they are fundamental things
14:45 that I didn't give so much importance before.
14:47 I preferred to give an assist,
14:49 to play well.
14:51 Being important for the team
14:53 and being a leader,
14:55 changing the game,
14:57 being impactful,
14:59 I think that helped me a lot.
15:01 From this point of view,
15:03 it may be fair to say
15:05 that the coach was perhaps
15:07 the most important in your growth as a coach.
15:09 Yes, yes, yes, definitely.
15:11 I think it has changed me a lot,
15:13 the step to become a man,
15:15 to start playing with the big guys.
15:17 The personality, the mental fitness.
15:19 Yes, yes, yes.
15:21 Your dad and your mum
15:23 gave you important values,
15:25 they have always been with you in these years.
15:27 What did they help you with the most?
15:29 Looking at the path now,
15:31 what do you feel you should thank them for the most?
15:33 I think the most important value
15:35 they gave me is humility,
15:37 to always stay on your feet,
15:39 not to give up,
15:41 not to feel like you've never made it.
15:43 Looking at Kevin now,
15:45 who has already made a long journey,
15:47 arrived at Primavera, he's a captain,
15:49 he's in the first team, he signed the contract.
15:51 What is the wish you feel in your heart
15:53 from mum and dad to son?
15:55 What do you wish for Kevin?
15:57 First of all, health,
15:59 that everything is fine.
16:01 Then I hope he makes a career,
16:03 I mean, I hope he becomes a top player.
16:05 And me, that I remain the same,
16:09 humble,
16:11 as I am now.
16:13 I wish my brother the best,
16:15 and I hope he continues like this,
16:17 with humility, because in the end
16:19 this is just the beginning.
16:21 I hope he continues and
16:23 he does everything, I mean,
16:25 I think he does the best.
16:27 Kevin, what do you feel you should say
16:29 to the kids, the young ones,
16:31 who now see you as a role model
16:33 and would like to do the same things you did?
16:35 From your point of view,
16:37 I think it's important to follow
16:39 your dream and improve day by day.
16:41 And definitely to remain humble
16:43 and never feel like you've reached your goal.
16:45 We've reached our goal.
16:47 [Music]
16:49 (dramatic music)
16:51 (whooshing)