Nicolò Barella gave high praise to the young players of Inter in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport. The midfielder expressed great admiration for several teammates, starting with Petar Sucic: “When Petar touches the ball you realize he has football in his blood. Here he has carved out an important role and has become a starter for his national team, which in recent years has played excellent World Cups and European Championships.”
On the return to midfield of Aleksandar Stankovic, Barella said he was positively impressed by the player’s growth: “Alek has always been a mature guy but now even more so after his last experience abroad. He left his comfort zone, which is Inter, and has grown a lot. He has great qualities and I am sure that during the season he will help us.”
Barella then spoke about Massolin, highlighting his physical and technical characteristics: “He has great physicality and very good technique. It’s hard to find someone who can combine both.”
Barella also reserved important words for Francesco Pio Esposito, born in 2005, whom he has known for a longer time: “Even though he is young, he has shown that he is strong and very important for Inter and for the National Team. That’s why everyone is always talking about him, but when it’s like this, you do something good and you’re lifted up like a god, then you make a mistake and they criticize you. It’s not easy, especially when you’re young and in a situation like the current one in Italian football, with the National Team not doing well. It creates pressure. But I know him well and I know he can handle it.”
The midfielder emphasized how the Italian core present at Inter represents real support for the young striker: “We try to give advice, since in our careers we have experienced those situations. And then Pio for us is a striker who makes the difference, because he has characteristics different from all the others. He has a nose for goal, he finds the net out of nowhere. So we have to pamper him, protect him.”
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