When Eva Gaetino was growing up as an aspiring young forward, Alex Morgan was her idol. She couldn’t help but laugh, then, when talking about her first camp with the United States women’s national team, in which she was often the center-back locked in a duel with one of her country’s greatest ever goal-scorers.
Gaetino spent her early years in soccer as a No.9 or a No.10, but that all changed when she went to college. At Notre Dame, she moved into defense, and it is in her new role that she has broken into the professional game, signing for Paris Saint-Germain in January before getting her first USWNT call-up in April.
To be on the same roster as Morgan was “a dream come true” for the 21-year-old, who admired the two-time world champion as a young girl not just for her “incredible” talent, but for using soccer to fight for what she believed in. But to be there as someone that the 34-year-old was battling against in training, as opposed to working with to score goals, was certainly surreal. “It was definitely one of those moments where you’re just like, ‘What is happening right now?’” Gaetino recalled with a chuckle.
The young center-back must have had a few of those ‘pinch yourself’ moments by now in a year which has taken her to one of the biggest clubs in France, the UEFA Women’s Champions League semi-finals and a USWNT camp. She’ll need to get used to the feeling, though, because Gaetino looks set for a big future at the very top of the game.
You can watch the UEFA Women’s Champions League for free on DAZN, wherever you are in the world!
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