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Full Free Episode - The Interview: AC Milan Women Star Refiloe Jane (Ep. 111)
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Introduction and Episode Overview
00:00:01
Speaker
Welcome to the Italian football podcast with John Solano, Carlo Garganese and Nima Tuvali.
00:00:24
Speaker
Hello everybody, and welcome to another interview episode of the Italian Football Podcast. I'm Carlo Garganese. Today's episode is the first of the month, so as always, this will be a free episode for everyone. If you want to sign up and gain access to all of our content, our weekly review show, our weekly interview with a top figure from the World of Calcho, and much, much more, head over to our Patreon page at patreon.com slash T-I-F-P.
00:00:52
Speaker
and you can become a member for only $2.99 a month.
Introducing Refiloe Jane, AC Milan Midfielder
00:00:56
Speaker
So, on to today's interview and we will be shining a light on women's football and the couch of Emily Le Seria. So, I'm delighted to welcome on to the show a star of the AC Milan women's team, Raffilo Jane. Fifi, as she is better known, she's a wonderful midfielder. She's won over 100 caps for South Africa. She's an absolute legend there.
00:01:19
Speaker
Fifi, thank you so much for
Adapting to Life in Milan During COVID
00:01:21
Speaker
joining us. How are you doing? How's life in Milan right now? Firstly, thank you for having me on the show. And I'm doing very well despite the circumstances that we face with the COVID and everything. I would say everything is going according to plan at the moment.
00:01:41
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, I can imagine.
Celebrating AC Milan's Derby Victory
00:01:43
Speaker
Well, I think there's only one place really for us to start, and that is the Derby at the weekend. You won 4-1, that fantastic result. Your good friend Valentina Jachinsi scored all four goals, which is unbelievable. And you were involved in the first goal, it was your shot that got saved and then ended up leading to the goal.
00:02:05
Speaker
So, I mean, you obviously must be delighted. What are your reactions to that win and to that result? It was a good win for the team. We know it's never easy playing in the derby. The derby in Milan is one of the most important davies one has ever played in. And coming into this derby after having lost the previous encounter in the first leg of the Copa Italia, we knew that it wasn't going to be easy.
00:02:35
Speaker
And when we started the game, inter-squad first, so we had to quickly stay focused and fight until the end. And we got the results that we came there for. Yeah, absolutely. And Jacinte, obviously, she got all the headlines, because she's got the four goals. I mean, I know you're quite close with her. I mean, her scoring record for Milan is incredible. She's a fantastic player. I mean, just how special a player is she, Jacinte?
00:03:06
Speaker
Having scored the four goals in the derby, I think it's big for her and for the profile also. And also we look at how the goals came into the team effort and credit also needs to go to the team. And knowing Valentina, we know how important she is for the team, how she gives all her best for the team. She goes out there, she has saved the team on numerous occasions.
00:03:34
Speaker
So I would say she's one of the important players that we have in the
Journey to Playing in Italy
00:03:37
Speaker
team. Yeah, the fourth goal was an amazing team move, wasn't it? So many passes. I mean, that was... Yeah. You won't see a better goal than that, will you? Team move. It's incredible. Yes, it was a good build up, you know. The patience with the ball, not being in a rush. And immediately when we got to the opponent's half, we took the tempo up and that's where all the combination plays came into place.
00:04:04
Speaker
were lucky to get such a beautiful goal. It was a good team effort from the beginning.
00:04:10
Speaker
Yeah, it was beautiful.
Cultural Experiences and Italian Life
00:04:12
Speaker
Okay, so just rewinding back a little bit and looking specifically at your move to Milan at the start, you became, and when we get to the questions after, you'll see we've had so many lovely messages from proud South Africans about everything you're doing, but you became the first South African to play in Italy when you moved to Milan in 2019. I mean, you said at the time it was a dream come true. I mean, you know,
00:04:38
Speaker
I guess it has been a real dream playing for Milan. Yes, knowing Milan and knowing how big of a club it is with the rich history they have, it's almost every player's dream to come and play in Milan, you know, all the facilities that they have, the management and the players who've represented Milan. And when I got the opportunity to come to Milan, it was a dream come true. And even now, I'm still living that dream. I haven't
00:05:07
Speaker
I'm relaxed just because I'm here. There's still so much to play for. I have to represent the team wherever I can and also represent my nation because I know so many people back at home are following the journey. So I'm not only here for myself, but for everyone else.
00:05:28
Speaker
Yeah, well said. And obviously it's not been easy, as you said before, living during this pandemic. But what do you love most about living in Italy and the Italian culture in general? What I love most about living in Milan, I would say, is getting an opportunity to see all these places that I've never been to. There's quite a number of places that I've only seen on the internet or on TV.
00:05:58
Speaker
Um, like the cathedral, you know, so many people talk about it and having to experience all that play in the San Siro stadium and given that opportunity to experience that, um, it's, it's one of the things that we'll never take for granted. And the cards had me learn the food and the people out there. They are very nice and everything else has been going as expected in a way.
00:06:28
Speaker
Yeah, that's that's great to hear.
Reflections on Mandela's Legacy
00:06:30
Speaker
Okay, so talking about about South Africa and I mean, you grew up in South Africa.
00:06:34
Speaker
in the 90s during a time of you know real great like social and political change and the return of Mandela and his presidency and I mean what was it what was it like growing up during those times especially for someone who you know had ambitions to become you know a footballer and and how much as I know you've probably been asked this a lot but how much of an inspiration was Mandela to you and for your life and career?
00:06:59
Speaker
Well, the late Nelson Olisha Mandela played a huge role in the lives of South Africans and more of the Black South Africans. We know of apartheid and how the system was against Black people. And having the likes of the late Nelson Mandela going to prison, sacrificing their lives for change, it says a lot, and forgiving the oppressors. It teaches you so much about the human element.
00:07:28
Speaker
that at the end, wherever you go, forgiveness plays a huge role and the love for other people also plays a huge role. So I would say that he played a huge role in my life and in the lives of Black people in South Africa.
00:07:44
Speaker
Yeah, well said. He actually, when I was a kid, still at school, he actually, I'm only from a very small town in England. He actually came to my town to unveil a statue in my small town when I was only about 14 years old. And I took the day off school, especially to go and skip school, especially to go and see him because I was such a big fan of him, like studying him at school and everything. And it was amazing, yeah.
00:08:13
Speaker
It was incredible. And you know, everywhere you go, like even with people who don't know much about South Africa, but as long as you say Mandela nursing, they immediately get so excited that you come from a place where Mandela resided, you know.
00:08:32
Speaker
So it's one of the big things that we part of, we cherish and will always be grateful for. Yeah, for sure.
Empowering Youth Through Sports Foundation
00:08:41
Speaker
And following on from that, I'd just like to speak a bit about your foundation, because you founded a foundation in South Africa to help
00:08:52
Speaker
youngsters you know fulfill their potential in sport or in life in general. Could you just tell us a little bit about that and you know why you founded it and kind of the work that you do with it? Well the reason I decided to come up with the foundation is because of when I looked at my journey and realized how important having the support to succeed is. I looked at my journey and
00:09:21
Speaker
I saw also a need for other young kids to get that support, whether it's academic support, the support about life skills, or the support about football. When I realized that how much that played a role in my life, I saw a need to also cloud back to the upcoming generation to share my experiences and to try and bring the dream closer to them. Because so many kids out there,
00:09:50
Speaker
It's like this thing that's far-fetched. It's difficult to get to, but as long as you can bring those opportunities or expose the kids to those opportunities, so much difference can be made. And we also emphasize that the change is not only for them. If we teach them something, it's for them also to go back into their communities to show and to share the experience that they had so that a continuous cycle, not only it will end with them,
00:10:17
Speaker
Let it be a cycle where we always plow back into our communities. That's great. And Jachinti came with you, didn't she, to help you when, is it Christmas? Not last Christmas, Christmas before, right? In 2019, yes. She was one of the special guests that we had for the foundation event where we had life skills and football clinic. So having Jachinti there also motivated the kids for them to see
00:10:47
Speaker
someone who plays for AC Milan, someone who plays overseas to come all the way to share their experience and to teach them the little skills that they have. It motivates them to want to achieve something in life. So that's one of the things that we try to do with the foundation. We try to get players who are doing so well or players who are overseas to come and share their experiences. Let the kids hear it from a different angle, you know. So in that way, we expose them to
00:11:15
Speaker
different scenarios and opportunities.
00:11:19
Speaker
I'm sure you'll produce a new Giffey or Jachinty in the future. Okay, so we just got several questions from some of our listeners. When we put out the promotion, we had such an incredible response. It was overwhelming that I haven't even been, I've only been able to pick only a small selection of them. First of all, I should say that there's a lot of messages from your fellow South Africans just saying how
00:11:49
Speaker
how proud they are of you and an inspiration you are to them. So I'll just read out just some of their names just to say thank you to them. So I hope I pronounced it right. So we've got Maroque, Wajozi, Ridwan, Kadeh, Halsey Nim, who's actually a friend of mine, and Shepul. They all say, you know, thank you so much for everything that you're doing for everybody in South Africa. So yeah, you've got a lot of love there.
00:12:16
Speaker
Yeah, thank you very much for the support and for all the time that they take to follow the GNA performance football. It says a lot and it's encouraging to know that there are people who are watching and following what we do. Yeah, good. Great to hear.
Personal Inspirations and Admired Football Legends
00:12:34
Speaker
Great to see. Okay, so first question from Ivan Barone. He wants to know, who were your football idols growing up and which team did you support?
00:12:44
Speaker
If you're going up, I had quite a number of football players I looked up to. It's all made, you know. So I would say from South Africa, I used to look up to the legend Lucas Hadeve, who used to be the captain of the national team and who played with Leeds United overseas. And I used to look up to
00:13:12
Speaker
Villarazzi, we call him Benedict Villarazzi, who was a small sized structure, but played the best football in the whole day, played midfield. And overseas, I would say, I looked up to Ronaldo from Brazil, you know, every time I played, and the people I looked up to, they all had different positions, you know,
00:13:36
Speaker
So for a defender, I would have Lucas Radeve, for a midfielder, I would have Villaraizi, and for an attacker, I would have Ronaldo from Brazil. So I used to follow them a lot and I would call myself that sometimes meet their names when I'm playing. Even today, my one brother still calls me Ronaldo because he knows how much he used to love Ronaldo.
00:14:00
Speaker
OK, Renaldo played for Milan as well, although only a very small period of time because he got a bad injury. OK, Kaya asks, you've spoken before of your love for gospel music. Which gospel singers are your favorites? Well, when it comes to gospel music, I wouldn't say I have a favorite singer or artist. I listen to gospel music
00:14:26
Speaker
all singers, depending also on the mood or on the type of message that I'm looking for at that moment. You know, with gospel music, there's music for all moods in a way. If you want prayer, if you want to praise, if you want to thank, you know, the Almighty. So there's different artists for different moods. So I wouldn't say I have
00:14:52
Speaker
just a designated artist that I love.
00:14:58
Speaker
It's a variety of artists that I follow. OK, I got you. I got you. I mean, mine's probably Adrita Franklin going back, but I mean, she's more commercialised. I love that music. OK, Salbono says, Italy is known for its food, but I think South Africa has the most underrated and some of the best cuisine on the planet. What dishes, South African dishes, do you miss that you cannot get in Italy?
00:15:26
Speaker
Well, in South Africa, we have quite interesting cuisines. And for me, I would say sam, we call it sam, and mojodu, which is the intestines of whether a cow or a sheep. So it's cooked in a traditional way, where it's more like you have a kind of soup or gravy that you eat with the sam.
00:15:51
Speaker
So in Italy, I haven't found any of that. And it's one of the things that I always look forward to when I go back home. When I know that I'll be going home, I always ask my mom to cook that for me because she cooks it best and I love that dish. If they find someone in Milan to make it for you. Puto-Makan says, what are your memories of the 2018 Africa Cup of Nations final loss and the journey of that tournament?
00:16:22
Speaker
I mean, that January was a historic tournament for the nation because it was a World Cup qualifying tournament. And we managed to qualify for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup. And coming second to Nigeria in the final, it could have went anyhow. We lost in penalty kicks. And it's just unfortunate that I wasn't there for the final because I had to go back to Australia.
00:16:51
Speaker
It was not in the FIFA calendar, the tournament. So my team in Australia gave me that period to say, okay, the mandate is for the national team to qualify for the World Cup. And once we've qualified, then we have to come back. So with that negotiation between the association and the team in Australia, that's how it went. But I know the team did well in the final against Nigeria.
00:17:16
Speaker
Yeah, it's a shame, it's a shame.
Overcoming Language and Weather Challenges
00:17:19
Speaker
So, Danny Poole says, Louise Quinn at Fiorentina has recently said how difficult it is or it has been for her to settle in with the team due to the language barriers. How have Milan helped you settle in as a foreign player? Well, with Milan, we have quite a number of international players also, likely they speak English and
00:17:45
Speaker
The staff members, they do try to speak English. So here and there, we get along quite well. And with Milan, the club, they give us a course. We attend an Italian course. So it helps a lot in learning the language. And also in the football field, it's easy to catch the words and the meanings because it's more of a repetition kind of thing.
00:18:10
Speaker
So I wouldn't say it was too much of a struggle to tell into Italy or into Milan. Yeah. Okay. Well, actually we have a question on that because Lulama says, how good is your Italian now? I would say it's almost 50% good because I understand quite a lot of things. Just when I have to respond back, I have to think before I speak, but sometimes I don't have to think if I just say it, however it comes, but you still understand what I say.
00:18:40
Speaker
So I would say about 50 percent, 60 percent. Yeah. Yeah. OK, that's good. Peter Nicoleides, who's who is a South African, he says, from a South African who has lived in Europe, how much of an adjustment was the he says the brutal December and January European weather, as well as the difference in food between the two countries? OK, you've already spoken about the food already. Yeah, with the weather, it's it's
00:19:08
Speaker
It's totally different. I would say the winter here gets really, really cold. Every morning when it's winter period, I'm always surprised that how cold can this get though? I never get used to the cold weather. Try living in England. Try living in England. Yeah, I heard also in England it gets so crazy. So even with the summer, it gets extremely hot. So when it comes to the weather, it's one of the biggest adjustments that I had to make.
00:19:38
Speaker
Yeah, I can imagine. Penultimate question from Yamly Mubisa. Hope I pronounced that right. Other than the food and the weather, what else do you miss about South Africa? Other than the food and the weather, I miss my family a lot. I'm family orientated. I spend a lot of time with my family. So it's one of the things I would say I miss about South Africa. It's family.
00:20:06
Speaker
And also the other thing is speaking my language, you know, um, can never run away. Um, for that we speak, I think we have about 11 official languages. So it's one of the things that I get to miss, you know, sometimes even here in the, in the, in the team, I would forget that I'm not at home. So I would say some South African ways. And then I had to remember that my teammates won't understand what I'm saying, but I'm trying to teach them one of the languages, which is,
00:20:36
Speaker
Isizulu, they are quite catching a tear in there. Yeah, yeah, 11 languages. That's incredible. Do you speak all of those 11 languages? Can you speak all of them? How many of them can you speak? I can fluently speak about six of them and then the rest I can understand.
00:20:56
Speaker
That's amazing. Okay, final question from Jonathan Bessford and
Advocating for Women's Football Professionalism
00:21:01
Speaker
Sunit. They both asked pretty much the same question, so I put them together. They say, what would you like to see improved in the women's game in order to attract more media coverage, more sponsorship and more fans? What can be done to make that better? I think if women's football would be made professional in a way that women footballers don't have to work two jobs,
00:21:26
Speaker
to fend for themselves, you know, as the same sponsorships that guys get, the women could equally get, because I think we're good enough for that, you know, and with the support, it starts with professionalizing the sport and getting salaries that you can sustain you in a way you can have, we can play football as a career and not have to worry about
00:21:53
Speaker
I have to go for a job as someone else where I need to balance the standard of living in a way.
00:22:01
Speaker
Yeah, so mainly down to funding. Just to follow up on that from myself, what does Italian women's football and the best teams in Italy, like Milan, obviously, Juventus, obviously very strong as well, what do they need to do in order to move up another level in Europe and to challenge in the Champions League some of the best English teams? Is it money as well, obviously, funding?
00:22:25
Speaker
Yes, I think with money also, you can also attract the best players from all over the world. You can attract the media, because the media tends to follow the players wherever they go. So I would say money plays an important role in improving the standard of the game for women.
00:22:46
Speaker
OK, great. So just before we finish, we always play a quick game with all our guests.
Rapid-Fire Questions with Refiloe Jane
00:22:53
Speaker
Basically what I'll do is I'll run through a list quickly, run through a list of questions and I'll give you two options for each question. You just tell me which of the two you prefer. You don't need to give an explanation, just one or the other. So I'll start off with the eternal question in football and that is, are you Team Ronaldo or Team Messi? Team Messi.
00:23:13
Speaker
Too messy, okay. And the new kids on the block. Erling Harland or killing Mbappe? I'd go with Mbappe. Okay. Pizza or pasta? In Italy, pasta in South Africa, pizza. Okay. They don't cook it very good in South Africa. Or the pizza's good. In South Africa, it's the best.
00:23:41
Speaker
OK, great. Sunrise or sunset? Sunset. Sunset. OK, and finally Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Valentina Giacinti, both of them have 17 goals this season for their teams. So who's going to finish the season with more goals? Valentina Giacinti.
00:24:02
Speaker
You had to say that.
Conclusion and Hopes for Women's Football
00:24:04
Speaker
OK, well, thank you so much for coming onto the show and being so generous with your time. It's a real pleasure chatting to you. And before you go, is there anything else you would like to promote? No, I just want to thank you for having me on the show and for
00:24:26
Speaker
profiling women's football. We could go quite a long way with having people like you profiling the game, especially women's football. I think the more media we have, the more chance we stand of attracting sponsorship, attracting
00:24:42
Speaker
all the things that we want in women's football. So thank you for your time and for the profile. Thank you. Now, it's a pleasure it's all ours. And yeah, we'll definitely one time we'll have you or one of your teammates in the future for sure. So thank you. And we wish you and your family best of health and your Milan the best of luck for the rest of the season. Thank you very much. Take care.