Barella: ‘I need more Italy goals, Mancini helps players feel peace’
Nicolo Barella of Italy and Belgium winger Diego Moreira battle for the ball in the Nations League match (@azzurri)
Nicolò Barella insists he is ‘lacking a few goals’ for Italy and outlines how Roberto Mancini has helped the Nazionale prepare for the match with Turkiye.
It kicks off at the Stadio Dall’Ara in Bologna on Monday at 19.45 UK time (20.45 CEST).
This has been a mixed bag for the Azzurri under the second Mancini era, as it started with a dismal 2-0 defeat at home to Belgium, but then they crushed Turkiye 4-1 in Bursa, before picking up a more than creditable 1-1 draw away to France.
Notably, Barella was left out of the Turkish trip and then only used as a substitute in Paris, but he is widely expected to be back in the starting XI tomorrow, as confirmed by the fact he was chosen for the press conference.
“I am not old, but I do have a lot of games in my legs and have had to learn how to listen to my body,” confessed Barella.
“Playing 70 games a year, you don’t have the same sharpness you did at age 23, but looking at the statistics, I am still one of those who covers the most ground.
“The only thing I’m lacking for the Nazionale is a few goals, that is where I’m lagging behind.”
He insisted he was not disappointed at being left out in Paris.
“This is a team sport, it’s not tennis.”
There were concerns over the return of Mancini to the Italy bench, but the team appears to be getting stronger and stronger with each game that goes by.
“One of the best things about the coach is that he allows us players to feel a sense of peace. We had some very difficult and not positive experiences in recent years, especially when it comes to me, Gigio Donnarumma and Alessandro Bastoni.
“The coach asked us to rediscover our enthusiasm, and I think we are doing that, because otherwise we wouldn’t have got back on track in France and then nearly won it at the end.”
Bastoni certainly has after the World Cup play-off red card against Bosnia and Herzegovina, because the defender scored in his last two Italy games.
Turkiye have lost all three Nations League matches so far in Group A, scoring one goal and conceding eight.
That is partly because they are weakened by the absence through injury of Juventus striker Kenan Yildiz and Inter midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu.
“Hakan is a champion who I got to know first as an opponent, then as a teammate,” noted Barella when asked about his Inter partner.
“He is a leader, so naturally that is a big loss for them, but they have other players we need to be wary of too. Turkiye will be wounded by their recent results and certainly eager to send a signal.”
This is the fourth game in the break for international duty, a new calendar implemented this season.
“I don’t know if it’s better or not. The positive thing is that we have more time to work and get to grips with the coach’s ideas, but they are long trips, we play every two days and get back late, so that has to be taken into account too,” concluded Barella.
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