Not many Lithuanian football fans are aware that a young and promising teenager of Lithuanian descent is currently developing his talent at one of the strongest clubs in the world. This is the story of Guido Della Rovere – a 19-year-old Italian-born midfielder with Lithuanian roots, who is chasing his dream at German champions Bayern Munich.
In recent years, Lithuanian football supporters have become familiar with the names of Divine Mukasa, Rokas Pukštas or even German Valera – three young footballers with Lithuanian heritage who are making their mark in the world of football. One is considered one of the future faces of Manchester City, another is on the verge of becoming part of the United States national team setup, while the third has already completed a full season in Spain’s top division.
However, Guido Della Rovere has remained a relatively unknown name among Lithuanian fans. Despite that, the attacking midfielder has been steadily progressing at one of the biggest clubs in world football. On July 25, he made his first-team debut for Bayern Munich in a friendly match against Wehen. Although the squad consisted mostly of young players and many senior-team regulars were absent, head coach Vincent Kompany showed his confidence in the youngster by including him in the starting lineup.
“Today, there were many articles published about Guido in Italy. He returned to the pitch after a serious injury and was given a few minutes before the start of the new season’s official matches,” said Della Rovere’s mother, Jurgita Gelumbauskaitė, after her son’s debut against Wehen.
While Guido’s father is Italian, his mother is fully Lithuanian. More than two decades ago, she moved to Italy with her husband, where Guido was born and raised until the age of 17. His football journey began at Cremonese, where he developed through the club’s academy and made his Serie B debut at just 16 years old.
Before turning 18, Della Rovere earned a move to Bayern Munich, a major step in the career of any young footballer. However, the transition was far from simple, as moving abroad at such a young age requires significant adaptation.
“I believe he has been given a tremendous opportunity. It is not easy for a young boy to leave his hometown, his friends and his parents behind and move to another country,” explained his mother.
In April 2026, Della Rovere suffered a thigh tendon injury that ruled him out for the remainder of the 2025/26 season. However, with the new campaign approaching, the midfielder is now back on the pitch and hoping to make his official debut for Bayern Munich’s first team.
“He had to undergo three months of rehabilitation to recover from the injury, and he recently played with the first team. This is already the third time he has been called up to the senior squad. He has also trained with the first team more than 20 times,” said Gelumbauskaitė.
The midfielder has regularly been invited to train alongside Bayern’s elite players, an invaluable experience for any young talent looking to develop.
“From time to time, he is invited to train with the club’s best players so he can continue improving his game. That is a huge honour for any young footballer. Training with players of that calibre is a completely different level,” she said.
Della Rovere already understands the demands of professional football after making his first-team debut for Cremonese, but according to his mother, the environment at Bayern Munich is on another level.
“He told me that the difference at Bayern Munich is enormous. Everything happens four or five times faster than what he experienced in Italy. The tempo is completely different – one, two, three, and suddenly you are already in front of the goal,” she explained.
Despite his rapid rise, Della Rovere remains a player who has not yet received much attention in Lithuania. To learn more about one of the country’s most intriguing football talents abroad, Baltic Football News spoke with his mother about Guido’s connection with his Lithuanian heritage, the challenges of adapting to life at one of the world’s biggest clubs, the pressure that comes with expectations, and the opportunities ahead of him.
Could you briefly tell us your family’s story? When and why did you leave Lithuania?
The reason is simple – love. I moved to Italy permanently after I had fully gotten to know Guido’s father. We decided that, one way or another, we would build our life in Italy.
For Italians, changing where they live is extremely difficult. Maybe one Italian out of a million would be willing to do it. On top of that, Italy offers warm weather and different conditions for raising a family. At that time, choosing Italy was simply the better option. Today, I’m not sure what I would choose, because Lithuania has developed tremendously. But back then, moving to Italy was definitely the right decision.
Living in Italy, how closely have you managed to maintain your connection with Lithuania? Do you return often and keep up with life back home?
Those who don’t work have more opportunities to come back. I work quite a lot, so it’s difficult for me. We only return to Lithuania once a year. We simply don’t have any other opportunities. My husband also wants to visit his homeland. He lives around 1,500 kilometres away from his hometown. There, he has sunshine and beautiful weather. So the choice isn’t particularly difficult: either spend time on sunny beaches that everyone dreams of visiting, or travel to Lithuania, which we unfortunately get to visit less often.
Usually, I stay in Lithuania for around ten days or two weeks, and that’s it. However, I stay in touch every single day. I speak with my family on the phone daily because that’s very important to me. For the past twenty-five years, I’ve only been able to return quite rarely.
When Guido moved to Germany, travelling to Lithuania became even more difficult. Then I had to ask myself where it was more important to go. Naturally, I travel for my son. The past two years have been incredibly intense for us. I was travelling to Germany to see Guido twice a month, and eventually it became very difficult to balance everything with work.
I nurture my connection with Lithuania in other ways as well. I currently serve as the Vice President of the Lithuanian community in the Lombardy region. I spend time with fellow Lithuanians, and Lithuania will always hold a special place in my heart. Being far away from Lithuania isn’t easy. My eldest daughter is fully Lithuanian, and she also finds it difficult to maintain that connection with her homeland.
While raising Guido, what were the main values you wanted to pass on to him? Was it important to preserve his Lithuanian identity – through the language, culture and family ties?
Maintaining the language was very difficult. I live in Cremona, where there are virtually no Lithuanians. There are only a handful of Lithuanian families, and I regularly keep in touch with just one of them. It isn’t easy. I travel to places where there are larger Lithuanian communities, such as Milan or Parma. That’s where I can maintain the Lithuanian language and other traditions.
My children never really had the same opportunity, and to some extent that’s my fault. They can count, hold a simple conversation and ask basic questions in Lithuanian. To me, that’s perfectly natural. I don’t understand why some people are surprised by that. Guido has now been living in Germany for several years. Even though he speaks Italian, he has started thinking in a different language. These kinds of gaps naturally appear. When you spend most of your time surrounded by people from another country, it inevitably has an impact.
On top of that, Guido also has to learn English and German. He speaks very little Lithuanian. He knows enough to ask basic questions and have a conversation with his grandfather, but beyond that, most of the communication takes place in English.
When and how did you realise that your son had talent and could realistically become a professional footballer?
I was an athlete myself. I loved running and competed in athletics. Things didn’t turn out the way I had hoped because those were different times. Nowadays, parents take their children to sports every day. I used to drive Guido to training sessions myself, sometimes even twice a day.
When I was training in Italy, I would often run outdoors because the area where I live is surrounded by nature. Guido started playing football and attending training sessions at a very young age. By the time he was two years old, he already had a remarkably good running rhythm. I watched the way he ran and realised that sport was going to be a part of his life. By the age of five, he was already incredibly fast for a child his age. His father, on the other hand, was completely against organised sport at such a young age.
I took Guido to a few training sessions and he began playing football. Everyone immediately noticed how quick he was. He was a sprinter with outstanding endurance. Later, it became clear that he could maintain the same rhythm over much longer distances as well. His technical abilities were also very impressive.
He then joined a small local club, nothing particularly high-level. After just a year, he was spotted by Cremonese. They invited him to join without even asking him to attend a trial. At first, he played with boys of his own age, but later he was promoted to older age groups. At just sixteen years old, he broke into the first team and made his Serie B debut. He was also named on the bench a few more times afterwards. At that level, I think even sitting on the bench at sixteen years old is already something to be proud of.
Overall, he has always remained very down-to-earth. I would even say that his character is more Lithuanian than Italian. He considers himself Italian and says so everywhere, but his personality speaks for itself.
Do you feel that he is receiving more and more attention? How does he cope with all of that?
It’s difficult for him. The club has psychologists available, but he doesn’t really like using those services. Still, he’s already earning a salary, so he certainly has access to that support if he needs it.
These days, he’s the one buying me trainers, not the other way around. When he was just twelve years old, he signed a contract with Nike and received various bonuses. Thanks to that, he even bought me a pair of shoes.
But as I said before, he’s a very reserved and calm person. Only a few months ago, I don’t think he fully understood where he was or what kind of club he represented. Not that long ago, he was still thinking about returning to Cremonese. That’s completely normal. He’s young, he misses his friends, and there’s an enormous amount of pressure on him. It’s not easy to deal with all of that. Perhaps he should listen to the psychologists more often, although sometimes he does.
It’s also very difficult to handle everything that comes through social media. Today, newspapers all across Italy are writing about him – from the country’s biggest sports outlets to our local newspaper. If people are already messaging me, just imagine how many messages he’s receiving himself.
But above all, I’m incredibly proud of him. Perhaps he inherited his reserved nature from his grandparents. In everyday life, he’s simply a very humble and genuine person.
It’s no secret that Guido’s priority is representing the Italian national team. Do you try to remain neutral on that subject, or do you share your own opinion with your son?
I don’t interfere in those decisions. He has already been called up to Italy’s youth national teams several times. As for Lithuania, the decision had to be made before he turned eighteen. After that, the rules no longer allowed it. But I have no doubt that Italy was always his priority, and I would never interfere with his choice. I believe he should follow what his heart tells him.
How much do you think the level of the Lithuanian national team has influenced Guido’s decision? Do you believe it’s the main reason he chose not to represent Lithuania, or were there other factors?
We all know the level of the Lithuanian national team. I also know that there is a huge difference compared to Italy. Guido has never really commented on it. He has never spoken negatively about Lithuania or criticised its national team. If you asked him directly, I’m sure he would simply say that Italy has always been his priority.
I think the results achieved by the two national teams speak for themselves. That’s only natural. When Guido was younger, I occasionally thought about the possibility of him representing Lithuania, but it was never something he considered himself.
If the Lithuanian football national team were at the same level as the country’s basketball team, things might have been very different.
Bayern Munich is obviously one of the biggest football organisations in the world. What is that experience like for a young player?
I’ve had the chance to be close to some of the club’s biggest stars myself. When you see someone like Jamal Musiala training just a few metres away from you, it’s an incredible experience. I’ve stood only a few metres from those players, and they all greet me. They say, “Hello, Guido’s mum.” They’re all incredibly humble.
I remember Michael Olise in particular. He would look at me and smile. I stood there watching all of them during training with my mouth open in amazement. Yet they’re all such normal people. Harry Kane is exactly the same – very down-to-earth. From the outside, many people think footballers are arrogant, but that really isn’t the case.
I hope Bayern’s stars become great role models for my son. Now that Guido has recovered from his injury, the plan is for him to train with the first team more frequently. They’re gradually integrating him into the senior squad and helping him settle into the environment step by step.
