Bergomi promotes Italy: “7.5 for the team, Pio Esposito can break Riva’s record”

At the microphones of Sky Sport, at the end of Italy-France 3-1 in the Nations League, Bergomi gave his evaluation of the Azzurri with a 7.5, explaining his reasons in detail.

“I give Italy a 7.5 because I always think there is room to grow, we can have a different approach. We conceded a bit, but we played a very good second half. In the final minutes, the way we were on the pitch and with the positive energy, it was difficult for the French. At the beginning we hadn’t found our footing, the French surprised us but I’m happy.”

He then broadened his reasoning to the context of the last few months: “Let’s think about 3-4 months ago: we thought we had a lack of players, but I thought they were there and Mancini got them involved.”

The most anticipated part of his speech concerned Pio Esposito, about whom Bergomi spoke with conviction: “On Pio Esposito I’ll go out on a limb: he’s the one who can break Riva’s record. Our top scorer is Riva with 35 goals in 42 matches, a record that has stood for many years, we’ve never really had a striker. If I think about Pio Esposito… Plus, he’s a grounded kid, and beyond the pitch there’s everything else.”