Italy winger Nicolò Zaniolo believes people have the wrong impression about him: ‘I’m labelled as a person who doesn’t show respect but that’s not the case.’ The Aston Villa man put in an excellent performance in Italy’s 2-1 win over Ukraine and spoke about the teams development with Sky Sport Italia:
“It was very important to win the three points, we are not the same team as seen in Macedonia and the coach before the match asked us to put everything we had on the field, because nothing other than victory mattered. We are happy, we also played good football. We enjoy this success.”
Could this evening at San Siro be a new starting point for you too?
“I don’t think I’ve ever stopped. I always do what the coach asks of me and I always make myself available. Many times I’m labeled by you as a person who doesn’t show respect, outside the lines, but that’s not the case. Absolutely. I I always make myself available and it has always been like this in all the teams I have played for. I am really happy with this match and I don’t feel like talking about the rest.”
Is right wing the role you feel is most yours?
“I can play winger, attacking midfielder or midfielder. But at the moment this is the role I know how to do best: I still need something to improve, but with the coach who told me so many things about the defensive and offensive phases on the pitch I felt I’m comfortable. I’m happy with this performance.”
In the end there were lots of hugs in the group
“As soon as you enter Coverciano you start to feel the history, we are the second most successful national team at World Cup level. We are a large group, we are truly a family and we focus only on that what happens inside the locker room, isolating us from the rest. Against Ukraine it was clear that we are not those the same team that played against Macedonia.”
What has changed compared to Saturday’s match?
“In Skopje there were things we did wrong, especially me, on the foul. There were small mistakes that we paid for, even if we were unlucky there too because we had 2-3 clear opportunities to score and at the first opportunity they drew. Against Ukraine we were bad, we came in determined and did well to put it in the net.”
