Sassari In Italy’s first match at the European Championships, yesterday Saturday 15 June, they scored the victory against Albania 2-1. Nicolò Barella he is one of the cornerstones of the national team built by the coach Luciano Spalletti and he immediately proved it.
The midfielder is the backbone of Inter, with whom he renewed his contract just a few days ago with an agreement until 20209. With the Nerazzurri, the Cagliari native has already collected 235 appearances and 22 goals.
27 years old, born on 7 February 1997 in Pirri, Barella grew up in Sestu and started playing football practically immediately. «At three and a half years old, at football school “Gigi Riva”, I played with the older ones but only for fun – so he himself said in 2018 –. A year or two later mom took me to basketball because everyone in her family played it, but in the gym I was the only one who kicked the ball against the wall. So I returned to “Gigi Riva”. I met Riva when I was 17. He just said: I saw you play, keep going. I found the strength to reply “thank you”».
He made his debut with the Cagliari shirt at a very young age, in the 2014-2015 season in Serie A, and the following season he played a few games in Serie B. But it was in 2016 that the spotlight began to shine on his plays. On loan to Como in Serie B, Nicolò Barella played 16 matches and, although still immature, showed great talent. So much so that Cagliari, having returned to the top flight, gave him a starting shirt which he did not take off for three seasons, indeed becoming one of the main players of the team. Midfielder who combines muscles and technique, the moment of the big spotlight has arrived.
Inter jumped on him and spent 50 million to take him away from the island. An idyll was born with the Nerazzurri. Today, having concluded the fifth year with two championships won as a protagonist, 3 Italian Super Cups and 2 Italian Cups, Barella is one of the strongest Italian footballers of the moment. In 2021 he was part of the national team that won the European Championship with the coach Roberto Mancini. Now he’ll try again with Spalletti’s Italy.
Married to former model Federica Schievenin, Barella is already the father of four children. Proudly Sardinian, in an interview a few years ago he replied: «The prejudice against Sardinians that I least tolerate? It might bother me that they call us shepherds. I, on the other hand, am proud of it because I believe that there is great dignity in milking a cow at 6 in the morning to bring milk to people.”
