With the Colosseum tattooed on his arm, longer hair than when he was a kid, and his mind firmly focused on Bologna and the Under 21 National Team, 21-year-old Riccardo Calafiori has lived many lives and careers in one: at 16, a serious knee injury risked ending his playing days, at 18, his first goal in the Europa League with Roma, at 20, an experience abroad (in Switzerland, with Basel), and now a starring role with the Rossoblu, in a position that wasn't initially his, but one that Calafiori shows he can do well. "What I've learned in these months I've never experienced before," says Calafiori from the Under 21 National Team retreat in Cesenatico. "But knowing myself and my teammates, everything comes naturally."

In recent days, even Coach Luciano Spalletti has expressed kind words for Calafiori: "It pleased me a lot, also because the senior national team is one of my goals. I dream of getting there and I try to work for it, but with tranquillity. When it comes, if it comes, I'll be extremely happy. The experience in Switzerland, which came partly out of necessity and partly by my decision, kept me away from the spotlight and changed me a lot, making me grow also due to the distance from home. The secret? Living with peace of mind, continuing to commit myself as I am also extra focused because of these crucial matches for our qualification journey to the Euros."

The present is full of satisfaction; the past was full of suffering. "I often think back to the memories of the rehabilitation period, the time spent in America. I think it's all connected: without those tough moments, I wouldn't have experienced these beautiful moments. My family was close to me and continues to be, even from a distance: that injury helped me, and after years, it evokes positive emotions and gives me energy to look ahead." Riccardo did it on his own, just like the tennis champions he admires and from whom he wants to learn: in Bologna, however, the strength of the group is dragging Thiago Motta's team towards the Champions League. "We are very young but with some elements of experience," he says. "The unity we have off the field is also evident when we play: I've experienced different groups, but this is one of the best. The Champions League? We take it game by game; it's no coincidence we found ourselves here. It's already March, why not make this dream come true?"

The Champions League path goes through, among others, the duel with the team that raised him. "I often hear from my teammates at Roma, they're teasing me," he jokes. "Let's say that if both the fourth and fifth-placed teams went to the Champions League, we would all be happy. The fact that I left Roma is part of things that can happen: I was sorry, but I never held it against the club. If we look at the path, it went well like this. De Rossi? I'm hearing from him less also because in these weeks he has a lot to do..."

From full-back to central defender, the change was radical: "When Thiago Motta arrived, he talked to me about the idea of ​​playing me as a central defender and not as a full-back. Lucumì's injury gave me space: I remained calm and sure that things would go well, and so it was." And as a central defender, Calafiori could also play for the National Team: "I just have to remember that coaches and mechanisms are different, and that the demands are different."

BLUE SHADES: The traveling exhibition of the Football Museum makes a stop in Cesena and Ferrara. From today until Friday 22 March, appointment at the Palazzo Comunale di Cesena (Piazza del Popolo, 10), with free admission. On Thursday, the exhibition can be visited from 08:00 CET to 17:00 CET, on Friday from 08:00 CET to 13:30 CET At the Municipal Palace of Ferrara, instead, the exhibition will be open from Sunday 24 March to Tuesday 26 March.

The list of call-ups:

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), Tommaso Baldanzi (Roma), Lorenzo Colombo (Monza), Francesco Pio Esposito (Spezia), Wilfried Gnonto (Leeds), Gaetano Pio Oristanio (Cagliari).

UEFA EURO UNDER 21 2025 - GROUP A

Friday 22 March

18:00 CET: San Marino v Ireland

18:15 CET: ITALY v Latvia (live on Rai 2)

Tuesday 26 March

17:00 CET: Norway v San Marino

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

Standings (in parentheses the matches played): ITALY (5) 11 points, Ireland (5) 10, Norway (5) 9, Latvia (7) 5, Turkey (5) 6, San Marino (5) 0

ITALY'S UPCOMING MATCHES

Thursday 5 September: Italy v San Marino

Tuesday 10 September: Norway v Italy

Tuesday 15 October: Italy v Ireland

The schedule

Thursday 21 March

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

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

tbc. Walkaround at the "Dino Manuzzi" stadium in Cesena

Friday 22 March

18:15 CET: ITALY v Latvia (at the "Dino Manuzzi" stadium in Cesena)

followed by a press conference

Saturday 23 March

15:30 CET: Training at Stadio Macrelli in San Mauro Pascoli (open to the press)

Sunday 24 March

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

Monday 25 March

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

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

tbc. Walkaround at the "Paolo Mazza" stadium in Ferrara

Tuesday 26 March

18:15 CET: ITALY v Turkey (at the "Paolo Mazza" stadium in Ferrara)

followed by a press conference and dissolution of the delegation