Serie B: Ana Santana si racconta, scopriamo qualcosa in più di lei!

Ciao Ana, how are you ? We are in the middle of your first year in BFM and we would like to know somethings more about your experience here in Italy !

Tell us somethings about basketball in Spain and the most important differences with Italian one. Is difficult to understand a different approach (if there is) 

Basketball in Spain and in Italy are very similar. I played in Spain until I was 18 and then moved to England, where I played for 4 years. In my opinion there is a much bigger difference between basketball in England and Italy. I find that the level of teams and players here is much higher and that the leagues are more competitive. Something else that stands out a lot, in a good way, is the amount of young girls that play basketball here.

How was your integration ? Did you have any problems in Italy and in BFM team ?

My integration was really good. Spanish is very similar to Italian, so although I could not speak it, I was still able to understand and communicate with people.  I was also very surprised with the amount of people that spoke english here in Milan. With regards to the team, from the first day I came to the training session, each and every single person of the team gave me a warm welcome and helped me with everything. I could not be more grateful for that!

How is the team relationship between senior and young players? Hard ? Stimulating? Who gave you the most advice when you arrived in BFM?

The relationship between everyone is amazing. In this team, we all get along and we all help each other. It just feels like being in a small family! When I got here Benny helped a lot. She used to translate everything that Coach Bacchini said during training (and she still does sometimes now). Carlotta also helped and still helps me a lot. She gives me lifts to and back from training and games (which I forever will be grateful for) and she gives me a lot of advice and recommendations on stuff to do and places to go in Milan.

In BFM team: who is the most cahotic? the most serious ? the most absent-minded ? the funniest ?

In our team, Gulia is the calmest out of all of us. The young ones, are obviously the craziest (you only have to see the instagram page @arrostoetiro that they created!) and the funniest is Paola for sure. She is always joking and messing around with everyone. But this does not mean she is the only one. Everyone has their moments which is what makes the environment around unique. The good thing about this team is that when someone is feeling down, the others lift them up and that when we are in a situation that requieres us to focus and be serious, we will all adapt to it.

Tell us something out of basket about your life. How do you spend your time ? What would you like to do in your life after your degree ?

Outside of basketball I like to travel. I haven’t had much time to go around Italy yet, but I cannot wait to discover every single corner of it! After I complete my Masters degree I would like to work ideally, somewhere where I can engineer and design sporting equipment.

Thank you Ana and good luck and all your best for the future !