By Emma Griffiths, Sports Editor
Since picking up American Football at university with the Bristol Barracuda, Gabriele Battistella has gone from strength to strength, becoming the first Bristol alumnus to forge a full time career in the European professional leagues, as well as being recently called up to represent his country on a national squad.
Battistella’s journey was not one of those set in stone, a tale of learning to throw an American football before being able to walk. Instead, it wasn’t until he went to a Give It A Go session in freshers week for the Bristol Barracuda, the University of Bristol American Football team, that ‘my life changed completely. Like completely upside down since I started - it’s been insane.’
As Battistella explains, after learning the basics during his freshers year, second year heralded the first time that he started getting game time, which he credits for opening up crucial doors for his career’s progression.
‘Thanks to the coaches putting that trust into me, that then gave me a door into the premiership, the top men’s league in the UK.’
When describing his process, Gabriele’s deeply methodical check list stands out to me. To him, nothing is out of reach - it’s simply a matter of what steps need to be put in place in order to access these opportunity.
After graduating University of Bristol in 2023, Battistella explains that next on his step-by-step plan was to just ‘think about the next best thing - which was to play for the Bristol Aztecs in 2023 summer. I worked my way up to starting on that team, and that really forged me because I had to adapt to playing at a high level with the responsibility of a starting role.’
Bristol is a hotspot for American Football, as Gabriele explains to me. With ten teams across the city, these include two university sides - Bristol Barracuda, and the UWE Bullets. Not only does this mean that there is a real feeling of community and tight knit allyship throughout the different clubs, but it also allowed the calibre played to be extremely high, with the UWE Bullets having the ‘best American football program in the UK, there’s no doubt.’
And, in line with Gabriele’s step-by-step approach to success, joining his third Bristol side was the logical next move.
‘I think probably the most important moment in helping me make it to the pro leagues was when I got to UWE. I became the starting corner, despite the odds being stacked against me on paper, and I managed to start every game on that team.
‘But the real development came in practice because practicing a mainly American offence two to three times a week, and being in the gym with them, witnessing their mentality and seeing how the elite do it - it really made me take twenty steps more.’
‘It was honestly an amazing experience - and the beautiful thing was that I got to stay in Bristol. Three teams, one city.’
However, staying put in one location forever was not on Battistella’s masterplan, and once he left the UWE master’s program, he finally achieved what he had been working towards since his second year of university: playing in the European professional league.
Speaking about the first time that he walked out into the stadium in Milan, where he was signed, Gabriele recounted how ‘I remember walking down the tunnel for the first time and hearing the crowd - it was just pure adrenaline. It was actually insane.’
His career, which had already enjoyed a continuously upwards trajectory since the very first time he donned the Barracuda’s kit, began to explode in ways that even Battistella hadn’t anticipated.
‘I graduated UOB in 2023, and by 2024 I was playing in the European pro football league - that’s probably one of the wildest things that has ever happened in my life.’
But, as with anyone with such all-consuming motivation, the work wasn’t over now that he had achieved his goal of playing in the European pro-leagues. Instead, he set his sights even higher: the Italian national team.
‘Like I said it’s a step by step thing, and since I’ve been a kid it’s been my dream to play for the national team.’
Battistella transferred to Germany for his second pro league contract, playing for IFM Razorbacks Ravensburg in ‘the best domestic pro league in Europe’ throughout 2024.
‘It was a very cool experience, it’s a small town, Ravensburg, in the southwest of Germany but we’re competing against big cities with big budgets. At one point we were the second lowest ranked team, and we managed to become south German champions, and go all the way to the national semi-finals - we missed out by one score, but we really did shock the league.’
It was from this impressive year that Battistella received the elusive text from the Italian coaches, inviting him to a training camp in Tuscany.
‘It was such a crazy thing. I’m yet to play a game with the Italian national team - the season’s ended - but now I’m in the loop, now they know who I am, now I’m in the organisation.’
Ever two steps ahead of his current reality, Gabriele immediately follows with his plan for the next year.
‘The next step is to have an even better year in Germany, because I’m going back, and then to be in the national team loop starting at the beginning of 2026, so I can play games with them.’
Battistella is the ultimate example of how far self-belief and taking every opportunity available can take you. However, he is quick to stress that it was not a solitary journey.
‘The people that I’ve had around me, they simplify, give me direction and guidance - I’m one athletes but it doesn’t feel like something I did on my own, it’s really a whole community. We support each other, we help each other grow.’
As we wrap up the interview, I ask Gabriele what he would tell someone just starting out - as he was just a few years ago. His answer, just as his approach to success is, is simple.
‘Be hungry. You have all the resources you need to succeed around you at Bristol. You need to have a clear vision of what you want to achieve, and how you want to get there - it’s not rocket science. You need to be hungry everywhere, you need to take every opportunity that comes your way - and good things will happen.’
After all:
‘It definitely changed my life, just going to that Give It A Go session at Bristol Barracudas.’
If you are interested in seeing what the Bristol Barracudas are all about for yourself, you can check out their Instagram @bristolcuda.
Has this inspired you to give a new sport a go?
Featured image: Andy Watts
