Alessandro Florenzi says Como’s Mattia Liberali and Inter’s Leonardo Bovio will be among the most interesting young Italian players to watch in Serie A this season, and he is confident Roberto Mancini will ‘get results’ with the Azzurri.
Euro 2020 Italy winner Florenzi gave an interview to Repubblica, talking about the future of the national team and the best prospects in Serie A.
Among those, he named two in particular: “Como’s Liberali and Bovio, the Inter defender, who impressed me during the summer friendlies.
“In any case, boys should not be attacked at the first mistake, or considered the saviours of the Fatherland,” noted the ex-defender.
“The new national team must be like ours, a mix of young and experienced players, who convey what it means to wear the blue jersey. So we can do something special again.”
Mancini has returned for a second stint as the Azzurri coach.
“He was like an older brother [during the Euros], always ready for the dialogue,” Florenzi said.
“He was a phenomenon in the way he managed the group.
“He knows how to identify young players and how to get results. We had been unbeaten for 37 in a row; it was not customary. There was hard work behind it.”
Claudio Ranieri, another ex-coach of Florenzi, has been appointed as the new technical director, replacing Paolo Maldini, who kept his role for just two weeks.
“Ranieri is a person I love, like Maldini and Leonardo. It’s a valuable choice,” Florenzi said.
“Those who say Malagò only chose his friends make me smile. He did great things at CONI; he doesn’t want Italy’s evil. I hope Ranieri can re-establish the entire youth football chain. He has experience; once he understands where to take action, he can revolutionise the situation.”
Florenzi won the Scudetto with Milan in 2021-22, with Maldini among the Rossoneri directors. Surely, Florenzi is not surprised that Maldini stepped down after learning that the FIGC would not appoint Andrea Pirlo as the new coach.
“Any choice would have been criticised. But maybe they had seen beyond the nose. If you choose Maldini, close your eyes and go straight with him,” Florenzi said.
“It wouldn’t have been him [if he hadn’t resigned]. Paolo needs to do things in his own way. He takes responsibility, and he does it at his best. He sensed a lack of trust and, out of coherence, he took a step back. He spoke about Cruyff and how he changed Spanish football. He wanted to do it in Italy as well and, to me, he could have made it.”
