8 thousand km, 13 hours of flight, 6 of time zone. These are the distances that divide Milan from Miami. Yet when you talk on the phone with Yannick Bright it seems like you are with him, sitting in the same room, experiencing the same emotions as him. Those of a boy like many others, who in less than a month will play together with Leo Messi. On the night of the MLS SuperDraft Yannick was selected as first choice by Inter Miami at position number 15. "The moment I heard my name was a mix of emotions. I was over the moon, i couldn't stop to scream. Even now I'm not realizing." This is how the midfielder talks to gianlucadimarzio.com.
Bright: "Inter Miami? It was a surprise. I can't wait to get started"
In the spirit of the NBA, the MLS SuperDraft has a very similar mechanism. For players declared eligible, the process begins several weeks earlier. The so-called Combine. Training sessions, matches and talks with coaches and managers. For Yannick, several teams were coming forward: "My agent listed at least ten of them interested in me. The most concrete track seemed to be the Colorado Rapids. I had spoken with them, but then they made other choices". And Inter Miami?: "It was a big surprise. I knew of a minimal interest but nothing more. When their turn to pick came i thought: 'I would like to play there'. The rest is history."
A story that will soon see him sharing the pitch with legends like Messi, Busquets and Suarez: "A dream, it will be incredible. But I have to be concentrated and take my chances. In the dressing room we are all the same, I won't go there and kiss feet to nobody". Personality. The one that Yannick will have to show from here on out. The next stage for him is the pre-season, where he will try to convince Inter Miami to let him sign a professional contract. The program includes luxury friendlies against Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr and Neymar's Al-Hilal: "I'm very nervous, but i feel ready. You have no idea how much i can't wait to get started, if i could i would leave already this evening."
Bright: "In Italy i was thinking about retiring. I never gave up"
Yannick has always been among the first choices. Since the matches on the pitch in Zibido San Giacomo, a small village in the province of Milan where "Yanna" (as his friends call him) grew up. But things didn't always go as he hoped. Before America he had to face several disappointments and doors closed in his face. The first, as a child, at AC Milan: "I auditioned there as a child together with my brother Kevin. They took him, but not me. Being the club i support, it hurt me a lot at the time." His young career continued between Alcione and Seguro until he reached Serie D (the fourth level of italian football) with Arconatese. There he spends more time in the stands than on the pitch: "In those moments i seriously thought about giving up playing football. Now seeing myself at this point makes me really proud of myself and how I never gave up. If I went back I would tell myself move forward and continue to work hard because the satisfactions will come."
The move to the United States comes for studies. A thing Yannick take very seriously: "I signed up for a scholarship program in America for student-athletes. It was the perfect opportunity for me." His new home becomes New Hampshire University and the college football team, the New Hampshire Wildcats. Here in 2021 he was included in the NCAA Division I All-Americans. "I miss my parents and friends, but I have now settled in here even if it was difficult at the beginning. I arrived here alone, without knowing a word of English. Now I have graduated in finance with a master's degree in Sports Management. I want to continue my studies." Seriousness, enthusiasm and desire to learn. Thus "Yanna" builds his American Dream.
