Legendary Italian defender Gianluca Zambrotta has hailed the performance of Riccardo Calafiori during Italyโs EURO 2024 opener against Albania.
Calafiori started for Luciano Spallettiโs side against Albania yesterday and while he wasnโt initially expected to start, he played ahead of Alessandro Buongiorno. And he didnโt let anyone down, putting in a performance worth praise in and out of possession too.
While he wasnโt quite the man of the match, there were many great performances in the game and Calafioriโs showing came at a time when very few expected, as it also caught a lot of attention.
Zambrotta spoke to Milan Football Week (via TMW) and he had huge praise for the defender. He said: โHe played an extraordinary game, like the whole team in the first 60 minutes. He played with personality, without fear, perhaps the only flaw was on the long ball where we took a risk with Donnarummaโs exit. But he showed some beautiful things yesterday.โ
Calafioriโs judgement error nearly made Italy give up a late goal but Gigio Donnarumma made a vital, late save. It remains to be seen if the Bologna man plays in the next game but he has already made a mark.
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Kaustubh Pandey I GIFN
