Viviano defends Barella: “He does the dirty work, always being at a high level is complicated”

Speaking to the microphones of Cronache di Spogliatoio, former goalkeeper Viviano defended Barella after his performance against France on Friday night, criticizing those who tend to raise their voices only when the midfielder is going through a difficult moment.

“Barella has become, for a couple of years now, the kind of player that when he plays badly, everyone comes out, but when he plays like he did in Italy-France, it’s all considered normal: it’s not normal, he played an outstanding match,” said Viviano. “Why do they question him? I said it some time ago: because people expect something that he isn’t, they say he doesn’t score 12 goals, but he doesn’t have those characteristics.”

The reasoning of the former goalkeeper points the finger at expectations built on parameters that do not belong to the player’s profile. According to Viviano, Barella is criticized for lacking offensive characteristics he has never had, while his real strengths are taken for granted.

“He does the dirty work, he’s always there in terms of intensity and covering the field,” he added. “Then he plays 60 matches a year, being always like that is complicated.”