If he wants to celebrate, for now he will have to settle for a mug of Berlin beer, not like when he offered a 400 euro Barolo when qualifying for Euro 2024. Here in Germany, red wine is not among the house specialities, white wine is more popular: Nicolò Barella is a sommelier and a great expert on the subject, he loves French wines, especially those from Burgundy, where he even spent a “study” holiday, but also the Tuscans, in his cellar there are more than 400 labels. «The national team? It’s like a Tuscan, a Brunello. Elegant”, so once said Nicolò. Everyone has their own vices, from the late-night playstation to the full-bodied glass of red. And in this he gets along well with Spalletti, also an expert in the field, as well as a producer. The symbiosis between the two certainly doesn’t start from this, but sometimes it becomes a topic of discussion that takes place during retreats, in some moments of confidence or boredom. Lucio loves Barella, because in him he sees Roma’s Nainggolan, an evolved De Rossi, an all-rounder, precious even in front of goal. In a word: leader, at just 27 years old. A small giant of 172 centimetres.
RUNNING RUNNING
In Germany, Nicolò already has a record: he is the footballer who runs more than anyone else, 37.04 kilometres, over the 35.96 of Schafer of Hungary and the 35.13 of Xhaka, who will try tomorrow evening in Berlin to send him astray again, as in 2022, with that anemic double match and those two penalties missed by Jorginho, which are now part of a (black) chapter in the history and literature of the national team. Berlin will be the opportunity for a revenge, with Nicolò who wants to emerge here in Germany but with the real objective of playing in the next World Cup: he, so strong, so decisive, but he never arrived at that appointment, despite his appearances in the national team are not trivial: he is the third in terms of militancy, with 56 appearances after Donnarumma, 65, and Jorginho, 57, with ten goals scored. But now to make the leap to the top in this European Championship we need the real Barella, that total footballer, capable of combining running, technical quality in speed, and magic, which Milan know well and which he also showed with his blue shirt, with which he was the protagonist in the last European Championship he won.
WAITING FOR THE GAME
The decisive goal against Albania, after about ten days of anxiety due to a muscle problem, had deluded Italy. However, Nicolò has always been among the best, both with Spain and with Croatia, but another flash was missing, that of the footballer, the only Italian, to have finished in the thirty for the last Ballon d’Or. Perhaps he paid for the frantic race towards recovery and the level slowly dropped and the national team suffered: Spalletti demands quality, continuity and he can give it to him. Sardinian, from Cagliari, who grew up among the dunes of southern Sardinia and at the school of Gigi Riva, the legend of him, a king of goals and also a splendid manager of the national team. Barella is a small giant, defining him as just a midfielder is also an understatement: over time, thanks also to Simone Inzaghi, he has acquired and honed his skills as a leader and total footballer. For Spalletti he is the man of transitions, of recoveries, also the one with whom he often compares himself in the locker room. Because Nicolò is not one of those guys who is all about football and social media. He’s a young old man, with a head full of wholesome things. Married to Federica Schievenin and father of three girls, Lavinia, Rebecca and Matilde and of Romeo, the latest arrival and first son of his large Barella gang. His concept of family is simple and clear: “It’s what I’ve always wanted, proud to be a dad who grows up with children, and I also feel the responsibility not to disappoint them.” Now he must not disappoint the national team. Spalletti is waiting for him, for a toast: from Berlin to the Tuscan hills, perhaps in the company of that elegant Brunello.
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