Having turned twenty-four in February, he can already add a Scudetto to his CV, as well as six Azzurri goals; in the game against Belgium he scored his first in this Euro tournament. Nicolò Barella is now a major part of Coach Mancini's tactical set-up, and the Italian midfield is even appreciated outside of Italy. Barella took part in the usual press conference held at the Media Centre in Coverciano: "It’s great to receive so many compliments because those in midfield do an important job for the team. However, as has been mentioned before, the true strength of this Italy side lies in the group".

The Inter midfielder's maturity on the pitch is evident ("I've always liked the responsibility, ever since I started playing"), and two days ago in Munich against Belgium his strike provided the quarter-final opener: "Scoring is always exciting, and doing it at the Euros is even better. The atmosphere at the end of the match was surreal, though it's hard to think that you can't celebrate such a good result, but what happened to Spinazzola, the best player so far, really affected us. Lukaku? I've had two seasons with him where we’ve grown as players and as friends, and I'm sure he'll be able to achieve even more in the future".

For now, the next obstacle on the way to the Uefa Euro 2020 final is Spain. They are an opponent that Italy has already faced on other occasions, including the previous Under-21 European Championship at home in 2019, when the match ended 3-1 for the Azzurrini: "We played a great game, they were the best team in the tournament and we won in a comeback. Unfortunately, we then went out when we lost against Poland".

Barella continued: "Spain has had great champions in the past, who have inspired not only me but also many of my colleagues. Busquet, Koke and Pedri, just to name a few: the Spaniards can count on great players even nowadays and Tuesday night will be a complicated match. The coach has instilled in us a winning mentality and we want to keep the ball at all times, so I think we will be playing like two very similar teams”.

Born in Cagliari and brought up at the Rossoblù club, Barella regards representing Sardinia as "a source of pride". And among other idols of his homeland, it’s hard not to think of Gigi Riva, a legend and symbol of the Sardinian club: "He is an unattainable myth. I hope to come even a little close to what he did and make my country proud of what I can do”.

 

Itinerary

Sunday 4 July
18:30 CEST – Training

Monday 5 July

11:00 CEST – Chartered flight Florence - Luton
14:30 (Local time) – Media activities at Wembley stadium
18:00 (Local time)  – Training at The Hive (open for the first 15 minutes)

Tuesday 6 July
20:00 (Local time) – Uefa Euro 2020 semi-final Italy-Spain
After the match media activities return and chartered flight Luton-Florence

 

NOTE FOR EDITORS – By clicking on this link, it is possible to download photos from Barella’s press conference. The images can be used after giving photo credit as follows: Credits: Getty for Figc.