Liguria. This evening at 9pm the European Championship beginsItaly. The Italian national team will make its debut againstAlbania in the first of three matches of Group B in which there are also the Spain (20/06 at 9pm) and the Croatia (24/06 at 9pm). Liguria will be represented primarily by Andrea Cambiaso from Genoa and Stephan El Shaarawy from Savona. Two Genoa players have been called up (Retegui And Malinovskyi) and as many as those of Sampdoria (Bereszyński And Stojanovic).
Cambiaso: from Serie D to the European Championship
Born in Genoa in 2000, Andrea Cambiaso he grew up in the rossoblù youth sector. A versatile player, who can be used as a midfielder but also as a midfielder, he arrived at Juventus starting from Serie D. In the 2017/2018 season he conquered withAlbisola of the Arenzano coach Fabio Fossati the victory of the Serie D championship. The following year, again Serie D with the Savona. Then, in order, Alessandria in Serie C, Empoli in Serie B, Genoa with Ballardini in Serie A, Bologna with Thiago Motta and finally Juventus.
El Shaarawy: Pharaoh eight years later
Born in Savona in 1992, he took his first steps in the youth sector of Legino. At Genoa he goes through the entire process up to the victory of the Primavera championship. In 2008, He made his debut in Serie A at just 16 years old in Gasperini’s Genoa. Then, the parenthesis at Padova before arriving in Milan. There a lightning start before a decline. An unhappy parenthesis at Monaco and the arrival at Roma. In the Giallorossi he earns lat the call for Euro 2016, under the leadership of Antonio Conte. Excluded from the 2021 champion group because he was in China with Shanghai Shenhua, he regained the Azzurri thanks to good seasons with the Giallorossi, the team he returned to in 2021. In his second experience with Roma, he won the Conference League and reached the final of Europa League.
Genoa represented by Retegui, Malinovskyi and Puscas
The national team’s starting striker should be the Atalanta player Scamacca. But often in competitions of this type the second rows have proved to be the protagonists. Retegui has scored 7 goals including one from a penalty in the league. Not a score to make your head spin, but it must be said that he was held back by an injury and that it is normal to have some difficulties in the first season in a new championship.
In any case, Retegui first convinced Mancini, who included him in the Italian tour, and Spalletti himself. We still need to understand how much chemistry there is between Spalletti and Scamacca. And it is not certain that Retegui will be able to gradually find more and more space. He enjoys the coach’s trust given that he had let him into a very delicate and precarious match 0 to 0 against Ukraine which was worth the qualification.
Speaking of Ukraine, the other Genoan will play with the Gialloblù: Ruslan Malinovskyi. He shouldn’t start, but he will certainly carve out his space on Mr. Rebrov’s board. In the group, there will be Belgium, Slovakia and they will challenge the “fresh” former Genoa player Dragusin, at the center of Romania’s defence.
He ended the season on loan at Bari, but the attacker is returning to Genoa George Puscaswhich should be Romania’s titular advanced benchmark.
Little “today” Sampdoria
Euro 2020 was a special competition for the Blucerchiati fans. Normal when there are two like Mancini and Vialli leading Italy in search of a “redemption” final at Wembley stadium. Returning to the players, Sampdoria will be represented by Stojanovic (Slovenia) although he returned to Empoli at the end of his loan. Exactly reverse path compared to that of Bereszynskicalled up by Poland. Among the illustrious former players, Schick will lead the Czech Republic’s attack while Bruno Ferandes will be the engine of Portugal’s midfield. There are five Italian coaches at the helm of European teams. Excluding Calzona (Slovaks) and Tedesco (Belgium), the other three have past with Sampdoria. Luciano Spalletti he led Sampdoria in the 1998/99 season which culminated in relegation, Vincenzo Montella he played for Sampdoria between 1996 and 1999 and coached them in the 2007/2008 season. Spent as a player for the coach of Hungary Marco Rossi (1993-1995)
“Missed” Genoans
Returning to the Italian national team, among the players who for different reasons will have the spotlight on them there will be Scamacca in attack and Calafiori in defense. The first because he is the designated center forward, the second because he earned the call-up following an amazing championship which put him straight in the sights of Juventus. Both had short stints in Genoa. The former West Ham striker’s score is more substantial, eight goals in twenty-six appearances in the 2020/2021 season. The defender’s period in Genoa was very fleeting, as he arrived on loan in the January 2022 transfer market together with Frendrup and Gudmundsson. He could have represented the third link in a market with golden eggs but then he returned to Roma in general silence.
They would have deserved it…
The most illustrious absentee is Haaland, but what is his fault if Norway is little except for him? Same thing although with different proportions for Albert Gudmundsson and his Iceland. Not the weakness of his national team, but just a technical choice behind Frendrup’s exclusion from the Danish national team. Better for Gilardino, who will be able to count on his midfield engine right from the start.
