Inter midfielder Davide Frattesi revealed that Claudio Marchisio and Daniele De Rossi were his idols growing up. The 24-year-old is set to play a key role for the Azzurri during the upcoming EURO’s, and speaking with La Repubblica, Frattesi shared his inspirations as a player and his role with the national team, beginning with the brace he scored against Ukraine:
It was an overwhelming joy. I’m deeply connected to my country, and I cared a lot about this. A few days later, I scored my first goal for Inter in the derby against Milan. I was ecstatic. It was a divine week, to quote one of my favorite movies.”
On Saturday in Dortmund, Frattesi is likely to replace the injured Nicolò Barella, his teammate at Inter: “There’s a lot to learn from Nicolò. He started as a raider, like me, but then he completed his game by working a lot on playmaking. That’s where I want to improve.”
Frattesi spoke fondly of his long-time roommate Gianluca Scamacca: “We’ve calculated that we’ve spent at least 700 days together since the youth teams. He’s a perfect roommate: he falls asleep immediately, rarely snores, and if he does, he stops after the first pillow hit. We’ve been together through Lazio, Roma, and Sassuolo. It seems like destiny. Usually, he joins a team and I follow. When I signed with Inter, I told him, ‘Scama, this time it’s your turn to join me.’ But he chose Atalanta and he’s happy. If he’s fit, he can score in any way. He’s strong up close but can also smash the net from thirty meters. He’s grown technically and physically at Bergamo.”
Frattesi addressed last summer’s transfer saga, where Milan also showed interest before he joined Inter: “I never knew anything about it. My agent asked me where I wanted to go, and I answered as early as last May: only Inter. I decided that after playing against them. They are an incredibly strong team with a great coach and a magical fanbase. I didn’t want to hear anything else.”
Finally, Frattesi shared his role models: “Technically, I look up to Marchisio. For character, De Rossi. As a kid, I played as a forward and argued with Franceschini, my youth coach at Lazio, about not wanting to change positions. Today, I’m very grateful to him and often write to him.”
