The Giallorossi midfielder spoke to UEFA.com Bryan Cristante a few days before his debut at UEFA EURO 2024 against Albania. Here are his statements:
The first days in Germany and the welcome received.
“We are excited, we are ready, we are working hard. We had a wonderful retreat, we prepared and trained well. We can’t wait to get started. The many fans make us feel more at home, we know that there are many Italians here, that there is a lot of passion. They showed it to us yesterday at the camp but also every day, upon arrival, outside the hotel. We want to make them proud as we want to make all the Italians who are at home proud Yesterday was beautiful, it’s nice to have so many people cheering for you, especially if you’re abroad. They make you feel at home and so we’ll have to give 100% to make them proud.”
The memory of EURO 2020.
“It will always remain alive. It will be a beautiful memory for your whole life, but football is like that. You always have to move forward. There is always a new competition. We have reached the end of these four years as reigning champions. Now everything can be put back together on the field but we want to show that we are still there among the strongest. Maybe this is a slightly younger group, with fewer years on the fields. But this is also a strong group with an equally strong coach preparing in the best way possible. We can’t wait to get started. We have many excellent players in midfield, it’s always better to have more than less. We can all compete do well, we know that we only win by being well together, collaborating with each other. We know how to do it and we want to repeat ourselves.”
On the blue attack.
“We have many strong attackers, maybe they are not yet in the big teams, in the big ones. But Scamacca has shown that he can do well, Retegui did well in Genoa this year. It was his first year in Europe and it is not easy. I think we have a good attack, but we are covered in all positions. We have an excellent team, a very strong coach. We want to start well and demonstrate on the pitch that we are the reigning champions.”
In the complicated group.
“Albania is a strong team, as are all in Europe. They are difficult to face, they have many players who play with us and against us in the league. They certainly know us well, they know how to face us and perhaps this is the biggest But we know that if we give 100% and stay focused on the goal, we can win. Starting well becomes even more important in a group like this. All the matches become fundamental: Spain and Croatia have proven to be great teams in recent years. but we have shown it too. We know how tough it is for us, and we can’t afford any missteps.”
Advice from De Rossi?
“We talk to the coach, we have a good relationship. I’m happy with my season even though as a team we hoped to do better in the league. We still reached the semi-finals of the Europa League. With coach De Rossi we took a further step, we improved We have to continue next season as we finished last season. Rossi didn’t give me any particular advice, we have a good relationship, we talk about everything, but we didn’t particularly discuss this. He was a champion, he won the World Championship He was one of the best Italian midfielders and any advice he gives me is always a pleasure for me.”
The favorites for the tournament.
“There are many strong teams, England, France, teams with players who have more European experience, who have more trophies on their shoulders. But we are an excellent team, a young team that wants to grow and demonstrate something during the tournament We have a really strong coach. We have to aim for the best without setting limits. We know we can play our cards with anyone.”
