Italy will host Turkey in the fourth round of the UEFA Nations League group stage. Ahead of the match, Italy midfielder Barella attended a press conference.

Hello, you also mentioned this in a recent interview with Gazzetta dello Sport. It seems to me that you are transitioning from an all-action box-to-box midfielder into a more cerebral player who focuses more on positioning and tactical awareness. You are gradually changing your initial playing style. If you confirm this change, do you think this evolution has made you more well-rounded and could prolong your career?

No, of course not. First and foremost, I hope this will prolong my career – that's the most important thing. But jokes aside, it's not that I've gotten old, but my legs have accumulated quite a lot of matches. So it's not that I've completely changed the way I play, but rather I've had to learn to better manage and distribute my physical energy. It's not easy to maintain the same explosive power and absolute activity level I had at 23 or in my first few years with the national team and Inter, when playing nearly 70 high-intensity matches a year.

However, when I look at my statistics, I'm still one of the players who covers the most ground in a match, so it's probably not that I'm running less. Although I might score fewer goals now than before, that's mainly because I have a different tactical role at the club and the coach has different demands of me. Now I'll try to make up for the goals I've missed with the national team over the past few years.

Given that our national team has undergone multiple restarts over the past four years, and we've always maintained optimism in the Nations League – after all, our performance has been good – I want to ask why fans and media should believe this is a true new beginning that can take us far. What's different this time? Nicolò, you've experienced the past two coaches, when everyone also harbored hopes of a fresh start and had excellent players, but something was always missing. What exactly is different now?

Well, without a doubt, as I've said before, besides having many excellent qualities, one huge advantage of the head coach that I have always greatly admired and agreed with is his ability to shield and alleviate all negative emotions and distractions from the entire team.

This international break's training camp is somewhat special because it's the first long break we've had – which could be an advantage for the team to deeply refine tactics, but could also present mental and psychological challenges. However, the head coach is always able to keep negative things away from the team, and I think that's a tremendous achievement, especially for people like me, Gigio Donnarumma, and Bastoni, who have experienced some very difficult setbacks with the national team.

Therefore, in my opinion, our most crucial task right now is to rediscover that passion within our team – that excitement and joy that was lost due to various changes in recent years. This is definitely a clear demand from the head coach, and we have proven with our recent performances that we have rediscovered this passion. Otherwise, against a strong opponent like France, we wouldn't have equalized or fought for victory in the final stages.

Turkey is without Calhanoglu. How do you view the Turkish national team without him?

Without a doubt, Calhanoglu is an extremely top-tier player, a true superstar. I first got to know him on the field as an opponent, and later had the great fortune to become his teammate at Inter. I don't need to elaborate on his individual technique and ability; most importantly, he is the absolute leader of the Turkish national team. Missing him and several other key players is certainly a huge loss for Turkey.

However, Turkey still has many talented and capable players. What's more important is that football is a team sport, and for both us and them, overall team performance is key to determining the outcome. Therefore, tomorrow's match will certainly not be easy for us, especially since Turkey has just experienced disappointing recent results and they are eager to prove themselves on the field again.

Good evening, Nicolò. Given that you are a well-known wine connoisseur and collector, for this new Italian national team, do you think our current style is closer to Vermentino white wine, Cannonau red wine, or Bollé sparkling wine?

It must be Cannonau. Without a doubt, we strongly need a powerful force and richness, so we need the vigor of Cannonau red wine to help us regain passion and confidence, as I just mentioned, because I think that is paramount.

And I believe the head coach understands this more deeply than we do. During our journey to win the European Championship, it was impeccable team cohesion that created a miracle. For this current fresh start, we must also rely on the power of the team. We have many excellent players, many veterans who have proven themselves in their careers, and also many young newcomers eager to prove themselves. But ultimately, the most crucial task is to perfectly integrate all these elements, so our core keyword must be "team."

Do you like this two-week-long international break training camp?

I don't know which competition format would be better. The good side of such a long training camp is that the team has more time for tactical training, to understand the coach's football philosophy more deeply, and to further consolidate team cohesion. But naturally, as I just said, a prolonged training camp accumulates tremendous physical and mental fatigue. Long journeys to away games, returning very late after matches, and sometimes having only two days of recovery to prepare for the next match while injured and tired – these are definitely realistic factors that must be considered when scheduling.

I have one specific question for Nicolò. Just now, all our media colleagues tried various ways to get the head coach to reveal tomorrow night's starting lineup, but they all failed. So I'd like to try my luck with you: Do you expect to start tomorrow? I also want to ask, during this special training break that you described as completely different from before, how did you feel about one instance where you didn't travel with the main group to an away game but stayed behind at the training base alone? But before answering this question, please answer the first one!

Of course I hope to start, but to be honest, I don't know. Because here, I don't see "Nicolò Barella's Italian National Team" written – I only see the big words "Italian National Team" – so the starting lineup and personnel selection are entirely up to the head coach. What I hope for is to contribute my own strength to this national team in any way possible.

Naturally, I am a professional footballer, and that strong competitive spirit and desire to win are what sustain my vibrant activity on the field. If one day I lose that desire to win, it means my career has come to an end. Therefore, not being able to start a match will certainly make me feel regretful and disappointed, but I am always ready to give my all for the Italian national team – whether it's for 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, or even just 1 minute, I will not hesitate.

So I really don't know if I'll start tomorrow. But I repeat: the team is always the most important thing. This team is called the Italian National Team, and I, Nicolò Barella, am just an ordinary member; I am not a leader or any special privileged person. So if the coach arranges for me to play, I will give my all on the field; if he needs me to travel with the main group for an away game, I will go without hesitation; if he needs me to stay at the training base, I will obey. There are no internal conflicts or disputes in any of this.

AF's PC site is now live! Browse full news, comments, match details and stats on your computer. Visit: www.allfootballapp.com