There are the Casadei’s who have made history in Romagna and who have made Romagna famous in Italy and beyond with their music. Cesare has the same mission, through football: he started from here as a child, returned here as a player, finding the right day to score his first goal with the Italy Under 21 shirt, after scoring seven at the Under 20 World Cup, always as a midfielder and always with Carmine Nunziata as coach. There were at least 15 people, including relatives and friends of Cesare, yesterday at Cesena's 'Manuzzi' stadium, plus 4,000 spectators who shouted his name when he scored the goal that unlocked Italy-Latvia and who stood up when Nunziata called him to the bench.

"Scoring for the national team is wonderful, doing it at home is even more so," Casadei tells figc.it. "Perhaps I played a few games at the 'Manuzzi' as a kid with Cesena's youth teams, but never at this level." Like Prati, Casadei - raised in the Bianconeri youth academy - was also a ball boy, but also a fan, taken to the stadium by dad Davide and mum Elena. At home, there is a jersey of Andrea Tabanelli, former Cesena player and now a DJ, a memento of days gone by. Today everything has turned around, others are asking for Cesare's jerseys: "I'll give the two from this match to my brothers, Ettore and Edoardo. They were also in the stands yesterday, and it wasn't obvious because Ettore lives and studies in America, but being in Italy he couldn't miss it."

Also because there isn't much time for them to be together, all united as a family: Carmine Nunziata, after the post-match recovery training and three days before the game against Turkey at the 'Paolo Mazza' stadium in Ferrara, gave half a day off, and it's easy to guess where Cesare went. "Living in England, I have little time to come back," he says. "But being in retreat with the national team, near Milano Marittima where I was born, is enough to smell home. I manage to come down occasionally, but it's easier for my parents to come to London: often with cappelletti or a pack of piadinas in their suitcase...". The Casadei family has entrusted the management of the piadineria in Milano Marittima, where Cesare is an idol even though he is only 21 years old: "I may seem boring, but actually I'm always focused and I don't realize how things are changing: my life has remained the same, I'm still at the beginning of my career and I have many things ahead of me."

However, attention on the Chelsea midfielder (who returned to London in January after half a season on loan at Leicester) has grown exponentially: "I don't feel this pressure, I always try to do my best with the awareness that I haven't achieved anything yet. On the contrary, I always try to improve." An example: "In London, I watch films and TV only in English because I need to improve my language. I arrived in England with inevitable difficulties and I have to thank Jorginho, Aubameyang, and Thiago Silva for helping me, now after a year and a half it's getting better but I have to think and speak in English, also because I think I know Italian well enough..."

The same goes for playing football and, in yesterday's case, knowing how to time his moves right: a characteristic that he shares with two national team companions but above all friends, Cesare and Giovanni Fabbian. In the Inter youth teams' days, they shared an apartment; yesterday they shared their presence in the score sheet. In the hotel lobby hosting Italy, during the chat with Casadei, Fabbian passes by: the two smile at each other and understand each other at a glance, as if they still lived under the same roof. "Our paths, at least as roommates, have diverged, but we remain very close, as with other teammates from Inter's Primavera," Casadei says. "We still have a group chat where we occasionally message each other." Yesterday, compliments were given: to Casadei, to Fabbian, but also to Mattia Zanotti, the assistant for Italy's opening goal.

 

The result and goals of Italy obviously reached the United States, where the A National Team is engaged in two tests against Venezuela and Ecuador, led by a coach, Luciano Spalletti, who has shown great attention to young players. "This is extremely motivating for all of us," Casadei replies. "Knowing that the national team coach follows us is stimulating because that jersey is everyone's dream. A dream, but also a responsibility: because all those children who cheered for us yesterday see us as examples. And we must always be that."

SHADES OF AZZURRO: The traveling exhibition of the Football Museum, after the success in Cesena, stops in Cesena and Ferrara. On Sunday, 24 March, the inauguration, then open to the public (with free admission) from 9 CET to 19:00 CET on Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays.

The list of called-up players:

Goalkeepers: Sebastiano Desplanches (Palermo), Filippo Rinaldi (Olbia), Gioele Zacchi (Giana Erminio);

Defenders: Riccardo Calafiori (Bologna), Diego Coppola (Hellas Verona), Daniele Ghilardi (Sampdoria), Michael Olabode Kayode (Fiorentina), Lorenzo Pirola (Salernitana), Matteo Ruggeri (Atalanta), Riccardo Turicchia (Juventus), Mattia Zanotti (San Gallo)

Midfielders: Alessandro Bianco (Reggiana), Cesare Casadei (Chelsea), Giovanni Fabbian (Bologna), Jacopo Fazzini (Empoli), Luis Hasa (Juventus), Fabio Miretti (Juventus), Cher Ndour (Braga), Matteo Prati (Cagliari), Franco Tongya (Aek Larnaca), Cristian Volpato (Sassuolo);

Forwards: Giuseppe Ambrosino (Catanzaro), Lorenzo Colombo (Monza), Francesco Pio Esposito (Spezia), Wilfried Gnonto (Leeds), Gaetano Pio Oristanio (Cagliari).

 

UEFA EURO UNDER 21 2025 - GROUP A

Friday, 22 March:

San Marino 0-7 Ireland

ITALY 2-0 Latvia

Tuesday 26 March:

17:00 CET: Norway vs. San Marino

18:15 CET: ITALY vs. Turkey (live on Rai 2)

Standings (with games played): ITALY (6) 14 points, Ireland (6) 13, Norway (5) 9, Latvia (6) 7, Turkey (5) 6, San Marino (6) 0

Upcoming matches for Italy:

Thursday, 5 September: Italy vs. San Marino

Tuesday, 10 September: Norway vs. Italy

Tuesday, 15 October: Italy vs. Ireland

Program:

Sunday, 24 March:

11:00 CET: Training at the Macrelli Stadium in San Mauro Pascoli (open to the press)

Monday, 25 March:

11:00 CET: Training at the Macrelli Stadium in San Mauro Pascoli (closed to the press)

14:15 CET: Press conference with Nunziata (Zoom and in person, at the Grand Hotel da Vinci)

TBC: Walkaround at the 'Paolo Mazza' stadium in Ferrara

Tuesday, 26 March:

17:15 CET: ITALY vs. Turkey (at 'Paolo Mazza' stadium in Ferrara), followed by a press conference and dissolution of the delegation.