Roma’s young attacking midfielder Tommaso Baldanzi is basking in the glory of his recent hat-trick for Italy’s Under-21 team against Norway. The 20-year-old former Empoli player shared his thoughts in a recent interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport (via Calciomercato), expressing his joy and ambitions.
“I’m happy. We deserved this victory, and now we’re firmly aiming for qualification,” Baldanzi stated. “We’re celebrating this success, then we’ll think about the upcoming commitments. I had only scored a hat-trick once before, with Empoli’s Primavera team against SPAL in 2021, the season after winning the championship.”
Reflecting on his goal drought, Baldanzi said, “I hadn’t scored since the goal against Juventus, my last game with Empoli. It was the end of January, and indeed, some time has passed. I’m happy to have returned to scoring. I feel good, I managed to complete the pre-season preparation, I’m satisfied.”
Baldanzi also discussed his partnership with Wilfried Gnonto in the national team: “He’s number 10, and I’m 11. For now. But on the field, we both play as number 10s. We always train hard, we want to go far.”
When asked about his prospects for the senior national team and the upcoming World Cup, Baldanzi remained grounded: “It doesn’t depend on me. The World Cup in two years? It’s a goal for every Italian boy. There’s time, I’ll continue to work at my best, and we’ll see what comes out of it.”
The young talent also defended the quality of Italian football: “They say there are no talents in Italy? It’s not true. There are many strong players: Ricci, Tonali, Frattesi.”
Discussing his preferred position, Baldanzi said, “No one is a trequartista like me? Maybe it’s a bit of a difficult role, not all teams use it. I’ve always played that position, and I’m happy to fill that role. Do I do it well? Sometimes…”
