Issa Doumbia is living a fairy tale, going from one dream to another: “When I received the call informing me of my call-up, I was sleeping,” confessed the Venezia midfielder from the team’s training camp in Galzignano Terme. “I thought it was a joke, but then it finally registered in my mind.” A few months ago, Doumbia, born to Ivorian parents, was playing in Serie C with Albinoleffe. Since then, he’s made the jump to Serie A with Venezia and the Italy U21 setup, with the Azzurri set to face the Netherlands at the Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo at 18:15 CET on Friday.

“My appeal to the Venezia fans is to come and support us,” said Doumbia, who was born in 2003. “This is a great opportunity for me to both improve and help the team, showing that I can be part of it. Obviously, there is a huge difference between Serie C and Serie A: the latter is a level where attention, determination and intensity in training are needed. But thanks to my work with Di Francesco, who always asks me to stay focused, I’ve made great strides forward. I know I need to keep it up.”

The Doumbia family arrived in Italy at different times: Issa’s father, a truck driver by profession, came first, followed by his mother in 2000. Issa is very close to his family: “Without them, and without my brother, I wouldn’t know what to do. My father made me think of football as a source of inspiration, and Pogba is someone I look up to. Physical strength and stamina are my strengths, and, if I had to choose an ideal role, I would say a mezzala on the right of a three-man midfield.”

EVENT. In the afternoon, Delegation Head Giancarlo Antognoni, Head Coach Carmine Nunziata and Goalkeeping Coach Fabrizio Ferron visited the travelling exhibition 'Sfumature di Azzurro', which features memorabilia from the Museo del Calcio in Coverciano. Also present were the Deputy Mayor and Sports Councillor of the Municipality of Venice, Andrea Tomaello, and the following representatives from Venezia FC: Managing Director, Tancredi Vitale; Director of Operations, Andrea Rogg; Finance Director and General Manager Corporate, Giorgio Francia.

SQUAD LIST

Goalkeepers: Sebastiano Desplanches (Palermo), Jacopo Sassi (Crotone), Gioele Zacchi (Latina);
Defenders: Samuele Angori (Pisa), Nicolò Bertola (Spezia), Diego Coppola (Verona), Daniele Ghilardi (Verona), Marco Palestra (Atalanta), Lorenzo Pirola (Olympiacos), Riccardo Turicchia (Juventus), Mattia Zanotti (Lugano);
Midfielders: Tommaso Baldanzi (Roma), Alessandro Bianco (Monza), Issa Doumbia (Venezia), Giovanni Fabbian (Bologna), Fabio Miretti (Genoa), Cher Ndour (Fiorentina), Simone Pafundi (Udinese), Niccolò Pisilli (Roma), Matteo Prati (Cagliari), Christian Volpato (Sassuolo);
Forwards: Giuseppe Ambrosino (Frosinone), Sebastiano Esposito (Empoli), Wilfried Gnonto (Leeds), Luca Koleosho (Burnley)