Alessandro Bastoni is one of the nine Italians who won the European Championship in 2021 with Roberto Mancini on the bench. The Inter defender is aiming for an encore, but knows that before dreaming big he will have to gain access to the round of 16 and therefore avoid defeat tomorrow night against Croatia.
no fear
—
The blow suffered against Spain still stings and the Italian centre-back wants redemption, without any desire to make calculations: “This year I have already experienced a situation in which in the Champions League a draw would have been enough (in Madrid in the second leg of the round of 16, ed) and it didn’t go very well. That’s why we want to go on the pitch to win. It’s important to do well and impose our game after the bad defeat against Spain.” Then directly: “I don’t like to associate the word ‘fear’ with football. You are afraid of an illness. Croatia did well against Spain even though they were 3-0 down at the end of the first half. We will have to be careful and play with the maximum concentration and determination. We respect Croatia, but we want to achieve an important result or a teammate doesn’t count: the only important thing is to get through: we all deserve it and the people at home deserve it, The attitude against Spain was wrong and when you are forced to defend low, you don’t always manage to gain confidence. If we keep the ball it will be easier. Football now gives us a second chance to redeem ourselves and we can’t wait to get back on the pitch. He reminds me of who I was four years ago to play the ball and he’s strong. We played two games together and I hope that this affinity between us will continue to grow over time.”
