After years of struggle with Le Azzurre, 35-year-old Cristiana Girelli is the star of an Italian team that is making history at EURO 2025. The player who sent Italy through to the semi-finals with a brace against Norway is now dreaming of beating England, the defending champions, to reach the final in Basel.
If she is adept in front of goal, Girelli is equally adept behind the lens.
On July 17, just as Italy had qualified for the semi-finals of the UEFA European Championship for the first time in 28 years, the Italian captain, who scored twice in a 2-1 win over Norway, was the one to take the camera to capture a historic photo: that of the Nazionale's return to the limelight.
And the 35-year-old Juventus striker, who has already made four appearances at a UEFA EUROs, had been waiting a long time to do just that.
"We've achieved something magical," she enthused at the press conference after receiving her second Player of the Match award of the tournament. "To be in the top four in Europe is wonderful."
Italy certainly owe her a debt of gratitude as she has scored three of the Nazionale's five goals throughout the tournament.
Girelli had already made her mark by netting against Portugal in the group phase, and she repeated the feat against Norway with a pair of clinical finishes.
At 35 years and 84 days, her two-goal display against Norway makes her the oldest player to score a brace in the EUROs or World Cup, surpassing Ada Hegerberg.
Her status as doyenne of an Italian squad rejuvenated by the arrival of Andrea Soncin has also earned her the nickname "Mum" within the squad, or "Cheffe", more to do with her love of cooking.
Above all, she is an example of self-sacrifice to her teammates, having grown up in Italian women's football far removed from how strong it is now.
Staying in peak condition
"Women's football has developed in all aspects, and with it, the demands made on us, particularly in physical terms," sums up Girelli.
"At Juventus, even though I was already 28 when I arrived, I can say that I've become an athlete. Today, I take care of every detail so that I'm in the best possible condition on match day.
"The more the years go by, the harder you have to push the accelerator to stay in good shape. Every day, I take the opportunity to work on my body."
She is also working on her heading ability. Against Norway, the striker won seven out of eight aerial duels.
"Honestly, I can't remember whether my heading was one of my strong points when I was a child. I think I've developed this quality over the years, because I only started playing closer to goal when I arrived at Juventus," says Girelli.
"I cross and Girelli scores, often with her head. When I see her in the box, I know all I have to do is put the ball in, and 90% of the time she'll put it in the net," adds Sofia Cantore, who provided the two assists for Girelli's brace against Norway.
"There aren't many like her in the box," said the Italian coach, who believes his number 10 is a "world-class player".
A title dream to take Italy to the next level
In Italy, the 35-year-old has nothing left to prove and boasts the most impressive women's record in regional football.
Girelli has 10 Serie A titles with Verona, Brescia and then Juventus, nine Italian Cups with the same clubs, a Player of the Year award in 2020, 122 caps and 61 goals with the Nazionale, the second most capped player and third top scorer in the history of the national team.
She has even been inducted into the Hall of Fame of Italian football in 2022, joining Alessandro del Piero, her idol.
Having grown up with posters of the 2006 World Cup champion in her bedroom, Girelli now plays before his very eyes.
"He watches us all the time," she confided before Tuesday's semi-final against England. "He's a great man and has wished us luck more than once."
The captain hopes to join the legendary former Juventus number 10 on the podium of Europe once and for all. A feat that would be unprecedented, given that Italy have never done better than two finals, in 1993 and 1997.
"We've got this far and we want to keep believing, we don't want to stop, we don't want to be satisfied with what we already have.... We firmly believe that we can get a result against any team."
Girelli is also aware that a win against the reigning European champions would take Italian women's football to a new level: "Something is happening in Switzerland, I'm proud to see the stadiums full and the people passionate, I hope this is just the start of something that can happen in Italy too."