Pio, born in 2005, was one year old when we won in Germany, but many others don’t remember anything from 2006…
It will be the World Cup for Generation Z, that of the so-called digital natives: it is the segment of the population that has not known a life without the internet but on the other hand has assimilated terms such as euro, social media, inclusiveness and eco-sustainability, which represent central points of their education. They therefore belong to the human group, which has been defined as Z by sociologists because it follows in time the Y group (or Millennials), of those who came into the world from the end of the 90s onwards. Almost all of Gattuso’s Azzurri can be classified in this generation. But we will narrow the field to those who, due to age issues, cannot clearly remember the triumph of Berlin 2006. Therefore those who were born from 2000 onwards. For them, who have never seen Italy get past the first round of the World Cup – in 2010, 2014, before darkness – the idea of qualifying is almost a mystical experience.
the children
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The youngest ever in the company is Pio Esposito, who was born on June 28, 2005. When Fabio Cannavaro raised the trophy, he had just turned one and was still crawling in the corridors. Against Northern Ireland he could be one of the protagonists, thanks to the series of 3 goals in 5 appearances for Italy, as well as his contemporary Marco Palestra, three months older, a debutant who would almost play at home at the New Balance Arena: his card, loaned to Cagliari and already desired by many clubs, belongs to Atalanta. Compared to these two, even Roma player Niccolò Pisilli seems like a veteran: in reality he dates back to September 2004, the year in which Italy was shipwrecked in the Portuguese European Championship with the controversy over Totti’s spitting on the Dane Poulsen.
intermediates
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Of the middle group, the star is Riccardo Calafiori, born in 2002 and a fantastic example of rebirth: after having crumbled his knee in the Roma youth team, he has become a defender worthy of the attention of a big Premier League team, namely Arsenal, who are very close to winning the title. Giorgio Scalvini, the multi-role host, also experienced bad luck: he could be repaid by the thrill of playing in his adopted city, Bergamo. He is a 2003 player, like the other defender Diego Coppola who chose to emigrate at a very young age: Brighton controls him, who sent him on loan to the ambitious Paris FC. In this list we also include the theoretical fourth goalkeeper, Elia Caprile in 2001, one of the sure transfer targets of the summer after the excellent seasons at Cagliari.
“old”
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The largest patrol is that of the 2000, which we seem to have known all our lives. There are six of Gattuso’s national team, starting with Sandro Tonali, now an established Premier League midfielder with Newcastle, and Moise Kean, who has rediscovered his centrality a few kilometers from the Coverciano sports center in Fiorentina. Andrea Cambiaso, Giacomo Raspadori and Marco Carnesecchi are also entering middle age as athletes, people now accustomed to the blue jersey. The last one is Nicolò Cambiaghi, who joined the playoff group after the withdrawal of Federico Chiesa. And by the way: do you know who the oldest among those called up is? Matteo Politano, Napoli winger, born in 1993, who even remembers having bought some ice cream in lira. He will have the task of explaining to others what a World Cup with Italy means.
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