Ahead of Italy's home Matchday 4 UEFA Nations League match against Turkey, Italian midfielder Barella was interviewed by Sky Sport Italia.

You have to play four matches in 11 days... First, I'd like to ask you about this training camp setup. Just looking at the schedule, it's clearly very unusual. Nicolo, what's your take on this new Italian national team that's being born and developed in this environment?

There's no doubt it's an exhausting and demanding training camp with a very congested fixture list. Everyone has accumulated fatigue since the start of the season—both physically and mentally. But logically, it's a task and mission we must fulfill as national team players, so we always do our best to face every challenge in peak competitive condition.

As for this new Italian national team being born, I think the previous match against France proved that completely—and of course, the match against Turkey will too. Perhaps the first match was more of an adjustment and experimentation period, but it's also a national team full of different characteristics and unique personalities. It's an Italian national team with real drive, hungry to rediscover itself and its glory. That's the most important point and core of it all; we need to start over with burning passion.

You, Gigio (Donnarumma), and especially Bastoni represent the core continuity from the 2021 European Championship win, spanning from Mancini's era to the new one. The national team has changed—has the coach evolved as well? In this journey and new phase, how does he communicate and connect with you?

No, without question, he's still the coach we know. He's someone who likes to work closely and communicate deeply with his players. As I said earlier, the core goal is to inject spirit and enthusiasm throughout the team and help everyone clear their minds and free themselves from the difficulties and shadows we've faced in recent years. But the most fundamental source of all this has to come from us players ourselves—from within, from our strong desire to reclaim our glory and rediscover ourselves at the top.

I also want to ask you two final things: First, Gigio said in an interview before the Belgium match, "The last few months have been very difficult for me in the dressing room, we could barely talk about it..."

Yes, that's true. When you start your national team career so brilliantly by winning the European Championship, but then fail to qualify for the World Cup twice in a row, you're bound to feel regret and torment deep down about the responsibility you bear. You know the criticism will come like waves, and you have to step forward and take responsibility. You have to dig deep within yourself and find the strength to face it all—come on, you have to find that strength! Because that's how it is in the end.

But there's no doubt that night was a very long and agonizing sleepless night, and in the months that followed, watching the World Cup live on TV from home was clearly not easy. But I want to repeat: both in real life and in football, you always have to learn to move forward and face all difficulties head-on with confidence. Now, we'll do our best to return to the glory we deserve.

One last question: in Italy, we're really not used to seeing you on the bench for two consecutive matches, especially in the most recent one. How do you view and accept this personally? What were your inner feelings? Especially in such an important match as France, where you didn't start from the first minute...

Yes, that's true. In recent years, I've almost always been a starter in every match, especially in crucial, high-stakes games. But football is a team sport; it's not like tennis where you play alone. What matters most is the whole team, not me personally. In other words, the Italian national team is not Barella's personal team—it's a team made up of this entire group of young players.

Everyone is making a big and important effort, especially during this long two-week training camp. So it's no big deal. I'm always ready to be called upon. Whether I come on as a substitute for 20 minutes, 30 minutes, or 15 minutes, I'll give everything when the team needs me. The final decision is entirely up to the coach, and I'm personally ready for any situation.

Diterjemahkan oleh AI.

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