Sometimes dreams do come true. Riccardo Calafiori knows this well, having realised two dreams this year: qualifying for the Champions League with Bologna and getting called up to the National Team. These goals seemed utopian for the Roman defender, born in 2002, just a few months ago, but he achieved them at the end of a season in which he truly blossomed. The breakout player of the breakout team of Serie A. Not bad at all.

To think that at this time, just over a year ago, he was training in Tirrenia with the Under-21 team before being 'cut' by the former Azzurrini coach Paolo Nicolato when it came time for the European Championship squad selection. Twelve months later, he has a real chance of making the list of 26 Azzurri for the senior European Championship: "Going to the European Championship," he said in his first press conference at Coverciano, "would be an enormous dream, and I will give it my all. Since last year, so many things have happened, otherwise, I wouldn't be here. The greatest improvement has been from a mental perspective. Since the start of this season, I have always been calm, and I have never been afraid of making mistakes".

A precocious talent, as confirmed by his journey through all the youth national teams, he had to overcome several obstacles before establishing himself at higher levels. At 16, a serious knee injury risked ending his playing career ("someone told me there would be this danger, but I never thought I wouldn't be a footballer anymore"). Two years later, he made his debut with Roma, also scoring his first goal in the Europa League. But there was no fairy tale ending and paradise had to wait. And so, that boy with the Colosseum tattooed on his arm left his city to move first to Genoa for a brief cameo and then to Switzerland, to Basel. The step from promise to meteor is short, but fortunately, last summer, almost at the end of the transfer window, Bologna decided to believe in him: "I wasn't entirely convinced about going to Basel," he confesses, "but then I immediately had wonderful feelings. There I found less pressure and consistency. For the first time in my career, I made around thirty appearances (26, to be exact), and this helped me grow."

No point in blaming anyone if things have gone a certain way. It's better to look forward: "I don't point fingers at anyone. At Roma, I had played even under Mourinho at the beginning. I wanted to play more and moved to Genoa, but it didn't work out. Meanwhile, the stock of other players rose at Roma, the opportunity with Basel emerged, and I went there".

Thanks to Lucumi's injury, Thiago Motta realised that the chrysalis would become a beautiful butterfly. From full-back to central defender, Calafiori carved out a starring role in the Rossoblù, earning first compliments and then the call from Luciano Spalletti: "I still don't fully realise that I'm here. It gives me enormous satisfaction. Everything changes from full-back to centre-back, the view of the ball, and also the space to occupy. For the rest, I feel comfortable defending both in a back three and in a back four."

On 11 July 2021, when Italy won its second European title, Riccardo was at home watching the final on TV with family and friends: "I went down to the square to celebrate. Compared to the team that won the Euros, we have changed a lot. The innocence of youth and not thinking too much to achieve great results can be a strength. I feel there is something special in this group".

When asked if there are similarities in Thiago Motta's and Spalletti's playing styles, he responded: "Yes, there are similarities in their approaches, but also differences. They are both very meticulous. Nowadays, all teams are organized and therefore look for movements to avoid giving reference points. It's important to occupy spaces at the right moment and in the right way." When it comes to naming a colleague to emulate, he mentions another young Azzurri player: "In these first two training sessions, Bastoni impressed me; he's devastating. I try to learn something from him as well as from others".

On Tuesday at the Dall'Ara, you can bet the applause meter will skyrocket for one of his favourites. "In Bologna, I can only say thank you; from the first day, we have experienced a beautiful atmosphere. For the parade on the bus, I didn't expect so much warmth and so many people, even though it's true that there was cause for celebration with the Champions League qualification, but after all, we haven't won a trophy".

ANTI-DOPING MEETING. After yesterday's meeting on match-fixing, the Azzurri had another encounter this morning as part of UEFA's anti-doping educational program HatTrick V. Professor Giuseppe Capua, (President of the Federal Anti-Doping Commission) and Alessia Di Gianfrancesco (General Director of NADO Italia) met with the players and staff of the National Team in the auditorium of the Federal Technical Center in Coverciano. Among the topics discussed were the prevention of intentional and unintentional doping, anti-doping controls, the list of prohibited substances, and therapeutic use exemption (TUE) requests.

SQUAD FOR THE TRAINING GATHERING

Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint Germain), Alex Meret (Napoli), Ivan Provedel (Lazio), Guglielmo Vicario (Tottenham);
Defenders: Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Raoul Bellanova (Torino), Alessandro Buongiorno (Torino), Riccardo Calafiori (Bologna), Andrea Cambiaso (Juventus), Matteo Darmian (Inter), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Federico Dimarco (Inter), Gianluca Mancini (Roma), *Giorgio Scalvini (Atalanta);
Midfielders: Nicolò Barella (Inter), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Nicolò Fagioli (Juventus), Michael Folorunsho (Hellas Verona), Davide Frattesi (Inter), Jorginho (Arsenal), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), Samuele Ricci (Torino);
Forwards: Federico Chiesa (Juventus), Stephan El Shaarawy (Roma), Riccardo Orsolini (Bologna), Giacomo Raspadori (Napoli), Mateo Retegui (Genoa), *Gianluca Scamacca (Atalanta), Mattia Zaccagni (Lazio).

*To join 3 June