Stramaccioni praises Pio Esposito: “The best in the world in that role”

Speaking to the Gazzetta dello Sport microphones, former coach Andrea Stramaccioni dedicated ample space to Pio Esposito, outlining an enthusiastic portrait of the young Italian striker. The starting point is a clear conviction: “Pio, yes. The best in the world if you’re looking for a physically strong striker who mainly plays with his back to goal. I don’t see anyone else with these characteristics at his level: Thierno Barry and Samu Aghehowa are strong, but Pio is superior.”

To confirm his assessment, Stramaccioni cites the two goals scored in four days against Ramon and Upamecano: “Identical, sense of positioning, he sets himself, you can’t move him anymore, goal.” On the topic of the national team’s striker, the former coach notes that a reference number nine had been missing for too long: “The last one, for me, was Luca Toni.”

Regarding the player’s potential, the assessment is equally flattering: “We’re talking about a twenty-one-year-old boy, intelligent both on and off the pitch. He carries the solid values that a special family has passed on to him and has two coaches who, besides appreciating him, truly care for him, Chivu and Mancini. His room for improvement is unpredictable, naturally in a positive way.”

As for the comparison with Harry Kane, Ballon d’Or winner, Stramaccioni makes a distinction: “In terms of value and importance to their respective national teams, yes. If we talk about their playing styles, I’d say no: at 21, Kane under Pochettino played as a nine and a half, often behind Soldado and with great ability to link up play, but his goal-scoring instinct was already frightening, so much so that he finished the Premier League with twenty-one goals to his name.”

Finally, on Italy’s victory against Zidane’s boys at San Siro: “Reacting to a negative start, where for fifteen to twenty minutes we suffered a lot. Then the dirty work looking for Pio when we struggled in possession, the growth minute by minute, the great second half and the energy from the decisive substitutions.”