Milan, the strange case of Calabria: leader with Pioli, excluded from the national team

There is very little Italy in today’s Milan, and there is no Milan in Spalletti’s Italy. Davide Calabria, the Rossoneri captain, is the only starter in Pioli’s eleven who could wear blue: a shirt that he instead left in the dressing room over a year ago, after the 90 minutes of the Nations League against Germany in June last. Even today that the dressing room would be his: the national team on 10 and 11 September will attend Milanello in preparation for the San Siro match against Ukraine, Donnarumma and Tonali will be based at the Rossoneri sports centre. Calabria will rest in those days to make room for the Azzurri: he trains with Sportiello, Mirante, Caldara, Kalulu, Pellegrino, Loftus-Cheek, Adli, Pobega and Romero, the only other Milan players without a national team. While coach Mancini also preferred Florenzi, his deputy in the club, Spalletti is betting strongly on the faithful Di Lorenzo, reference for the champion Napoli. Excluded in blue, Calabria was the tactical surprise of the Olimpico: Milan, who beat Roma, being able to prepare the derby with full points, had two midfield point guards, Krunic and precisely Calabria, and a right defender who manned takes care of the area, always Calabria. “We have a new way of playing, it’s not easy to see a full-back who works like this” Davide said about himself during the half-time of the last match. Not even the dual role brought him back to the national team: the blue remains one of the personal goals of the season. In the meantime, he has chosen to distract himself from his sporting commitments: on Instagram he has posted various shots of a trip to the lake with his friends.

red and black heart

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Born in Brescia, Davide has been a Milan supporter since the age of eleven. From “rookie” to captain of the first team: it is the tenth season in which he appears in the squad of the greats. He has spent over half of his life as a Rossoneri player: he turned twenty-six in December, fifteen celebrated with the Milan shirt. “I’ve been a Rossoneri all my life and I hope I can finish my career here. It’s absurd to believe we are full after a Scudetto, we want to win again precisely because now we know what it feels like. I dream of being the captain who raises a trophy”, given that Cup of May 2022 was lifted by Romagnoli. In the meantime, without national efforts, he will be able to prepare better for the next derby: Inter are the second most faced team in his career, 16 times, the first being on the evening of 3 September 2015. Today they are also captain beyond the wing: “The new players are We fit in well, ours is an easy group to join, we’re all young and we want to do something. Everyone applied themselves and immediately understood the coach’s directives and our way of playing”. Even the new ones will be able to help him regain the blue. Which today seems so close, but is actually very far away.