Davide Frattesi, the dynamic midfielder for Inter Milan and the Italian national team, recently opened up about his career journey and his relationship with national team coach Luciano Spalletti in an interview with Vivo Azzurro TV.
Reflecting on his early days, Frattesi shared a pivotal moment from his youth career: “Back in the youth teams, I didn’t take well to the change of position from striker to midfielder. I remember the coach was Franceschini, and when he moved me to play as a mezzala, I wanted to leave training. Instead, I’ll never stop thanking him.”
The 24-year-old attributes his success to an insatiable drive for improvement. “I think my secret has been to always stay hungry,” he explained. “Even with not immense talent, through work and desire, you can go anywhere.”
Frattesi’s perspective on representing Italy has evolved over time. “As a child, I saw the national team as a dream, something exceptional,” he reminisced. “Today, I experience it trying to give important joys to those children we once were. Lately, we haven’t succeeded, but now we’re working to be able to give them that.”
The midfielder also shed light on his relationship with national team coach Luciano Spalletti: “Jokingly, I say that with the coach there’s a love-hate relationship. The first time at the retreat, he told me, ‘I have a lot of respect for you, but you’ll be the player I’ll bother the most.’ If a coach is on your back, it means he wants to make you improve, and I have improved with him.”
Frattesi highlighted a recent career highlight, stating, “The two goals I scored against Ukraine were the most important I’ve scored in the Azzurri shirt, also because I had just arrived at Inter and I scored them in my new stadium, San Siro.”
