“Su piccioccheddu” he had only one big problem, as he ran after everyone on the Saline pitches: he never kicked on goal. And it was the joy and desperation of his coaches, Nicolò Barella, because with that “musical” right foot he always preferred assists to shots. The boy today is a wonderful father and a midfielder who pushes his coach, Luciano Spalletti, to tell a necessary lie, when he whispers that the national team does not depend on just one player. It depends on Barella, nothing else. It depends on that poetic right-footed shot, a stunning winger and an uncatchable ball. And victory. And smiles.
that sheet
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Barella is at the peak of a career that gives piccioccheddu, as a child, he wrote it down on a piece of paper. Everything, everything dreamed and imagined before. The Cagliari shirt, the Inter shirt, the scudetto, the national team, a victory in the blue shirt: objectives achieved, that leaflet brought good results. “Never settle”, however, is his motto. His and his agent, Alessandro Beltrami, who pampered him yesterday afternoon, in the hours of freedom granted by Spalletti. Nicolò was never satisfied, in fact. Lucid yet volcanic, loving yet detestable, because he tries to tolerate someone like that on the pitch. Someone who doesn’t accept losing rejects defeat or, even more, the play that doesn’t succeed. Someone who has had the blue shirt tattooed on him, since that debut with the Under 15s in 2012: it was an Italy-Belgium team, the left back of that national team was a certain Dimarco. Signs of the future, signs of champion. Nicolò went through the entire Italian selection process, he never missed a step, so it cannot be said that at this level he is an extra, an occasional player. It is confirmation of the perfect mix, work plus talent. The guarantee of an absolute phenomenon of continuity.
like zola
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Who knows if on that piece of paper Nicolò had also written that one day he would match a certain Gianfranco Zola – yes, Zola – with 10 goals in the national team’s all-time goalscoring list. Pride of Sardinia, mother earth that flows through Nicolò’s veins. That as a kid he could have chosen basketball and instead he began to push the ball with his feet, rather than with his hands. Blessed that day. Blessed family who guided him. Blessed are those who believed in him right away. Yet the NBA remains his passion. Yet LeBron James was and remains his inspiration, even if when he needs to relax Nicolò has two other infallible methods: the first, enjoying – when his diet allows it – a good glass of wine, as a great expert on the subject that he is. . The second, a game of darts, a pastime he is passionate about.
double
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And yes, Barella hit the mark. In football and in life, with four children to run after. The latest arrival, Romeo, has set a kind of record: after nine days of life he has already enjoyed a goal from his father with the national team. Lucky him. And lucky Spalletti, who will have many worries but no, he really doesn’t have the one relating to the midfielder’s performance. Nicolò has blue inside. After all, he couldn’t be otherwise, having grown up as he did at the Gigi Riva football school. That Thunderclap who one day – it was 2014 – told him: “Boy, I saw you play, keep going”. Nicolò continued. And now he has set his sights on achieving a double, a more European championship. He has already succeeded in 2021. In this case, this time he would have the dedication ready. For Gigi, obviously.
