Cambiaso looks back to his humble roots in football, compares Motta to Spalletti | OneFootball

Juventus wingback Andrea Cambiaso has now risen to prominence, becoming a stalwart for both club and country. Nevertheless, the 24-year-old’s path was anything but easy, especially after starting his career from the very bottom of Italian football’s pyramid.

The wingback also had to overcome an ACL injury that impeded his progress at a sensitive stage of his development. But curious enough, the Italian insists he wouldn’t have made it to the big stage without this hurdle which forced him to adopt a stronger mindset.

“I always thought that if I hadn’t broken my knee, I probably wouldn’t be here today,” said the former Genoa man in his interview with the social channels of the Italian national team (via IlBianconero).

“It was a blow, I was in the most important phase of my career, as I was doing very well at Alessandria and in January there was talk of interest from some Serie B clubs. I had to deal first with the rupture of my cruciate ligament and then with Covid, but I overcame it because I always kept my head connected and I got back to the pitch.

Cambiaso also recalled his maiden international call-up and his father’s funny reaction.

“It was the day before Juventus-Cagliari and the team manager gave me the news. I almost couldn’t believe it. I immediately called my parents and my father said ‘ok, you’ll go there to be a bottle carrier’. He was very happy, but he wanted me to keep my feet on the ground. This is something I learned well from him.”

The versatile star also revealed what his Juventus coach Thiago Motta has in common with his national team manager Luciano Spalletti.

“I have an excellent relationship with the coach [Spalletti], he’s a man of the field and it’s nice to deal with people who have a great passion for this sport. He asks us to play football, as does Thiago Motta, and to always be available for one another. We have shown this, especially in the last few games.”