Fagioli starting with Italy in the match against Switzerland: from the disqualification for the ‘betting case’ to the call-up to the European Championships and the starting shirt in the match valid for the round of 16 of EURO 2024.
Nicholas Beans will play as a starter withItalia in the match against the Swissvalid for the EURO 2024 round of 16. From the disqualification for the ‘betting case’, which had kept him away from the playing fields for 7 months until the criticized call-up for the European Championships. A pretty incredible parable, if we go back to those days in the autumn of 2023.
The Juventus midfielder returned to the field in the last two matches of the season and the coach decided to include him in the pre-squad squad, not without controversy in Italian published opinion: the choice to take him to Germany. For Fagioli it is a unique opportunity, in a place like the Olympiastadion in Berlin which for the Azzurri evokes grandiose dreams.
Beans from betting on the European Championships with the national team
In mid-October, the FIGC officially announced Nicolò Fagioli’s 7-month ban from the pitch, plus 5 months commuted to “alternative prescriptions”, including the obligation to treat his gambling addiction with a therapeutic plan lasting at least 6 months”. The Juventus player was investigated by the Turin Prosecutor’s Office for online betting on illegal platforms and subsequently the Football Federation opened a file that led to the sanction.
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Fagioli confessed during the interrogations that “over time it became an obsession” and admitted to having been subjected to threats: “I’ll break your legs”. The 2001-born footballer during a meeting in Condove, a municipality in the Val di Susa near Turin, recounted its darkest period: “The most difficult period was a year ago (February 2023, ed.), I was still in the game, and until all this mess happened the problem was there, with friends and family. Then I asked for help. We need to ask for help I ended up playing 12 hours a day, always with my phone in my hand, I didn’t care about my family and my girlfriend. Maybe I realized too late that it was an illness, but you don’t even start playing and cultivate yours dreams”.
Fagioli self-reported and thus managed to have a reduced sentence but during the very long chat with the federal prosecutor Chiné recounted various personal facts, from the request for continuous loans to his teammates because his mother had blocked his accounts at a total amount of debts which had gone from 250 thousand euros of debts in September 2022 to 2.7 million between March and April 2023.
Mother Laura said in an interview: “The truth is that in this story we are all victims. The time will come to tell.”
Fagioli continued to train and when the time came he was ready: Paolo Montero launched him in the final phase of the penultimate match of the championship against Bologna and from the 1st minute against Monza in the last match of the year.
Fagioli present and future of the National team: he holds the keys to the midfield
Nicolò Fagioli was launched by the CT in the first knockout match after having played only 9 minutes in the three previous matches but in the segment with Croatia he had seemed very proactive and eager to show off.
Luciano Spalletti spoke to Sky about the midfield he changed for the match against Switzerland: “Fagioli will be the director. With his youth he has all the qualities to become a big player in that role. Together with him there will be Cristante on the centre-right. Barella will be the one who will have to stay close to Xhaka. Then, two wingers who can attack, with El Shaarawy who can help in the retreats, as he always has. He has the right maturity to be part of this team.”
Nicolò Fagioli can be the present and the future of the national team and his first step towards becoming a point of reference for the blue shirt can arrive as early as tonight.
