This is not goodbye, but goodbye. On the sidelines of a painful and troubled period of reflection, which began in practice immediately after the conquest of yet another tricolor with “his team”, Jomi Salerno, Valentina Landri says enough. “The physicist – he argues with a hint of emotion – no longer gives me positive signals and this time I can only support him”. Yes, because on other occasions, at other times, Valentina’s body had sent negative signals. “But my head had always been opposed and, despite everything, I had moved on trusting my personal feelings. This time – he reiterates – I can not pretend nothing has happened, do not care and go on. Handball has been my life, but it’s time to imagine a different path ».
Last April, after a long stop linked to heart problems, typo of the terrible thyroid cancer that had forced her to a first and prolonged period of inactivity at a very young age, the “warrior” Valentina Landri had returned to the field after having brilliantly overcome severe physical and medical tests. It seemed like the beginning of a new life in handballing, but it didn’t. «For this reason I have decided to definitively close with the competitive activity. I didn’t feel like getting by or carving out marginal roles. These are practices that do not belong to me ». On the other hand, after having collected titles after titles with Jomi Salerno and having been a column of the National Blue team for at least 10 years, it was unthinkable that Valentina Landri could be satisfied with a secondary role.
“I thank all those who believed in my abilities, those who invested time and resources in me, the technicians I was lucky enough to meet, all my wonderful teammates to whom I will be forever linked, the fans but also the opponents for whom I have always had the utmost respect. It was a wonderful adventure that of handball, I pursued and achieved my goals, I did everything I imagined as a child when for the first time I handled a handball. Thank you all”.