Italy: Bastoni explains why he and Calafiori are similar | OneFootball

Alessandro Bastoni praises his Italy teammate Riccardo Calafiori, saying that the Bologna defender is similar to the player he was three years ago.

Bastoni spoke at a press conference on Sunday on the eve of an EURO 2024 clash against Croatia.

The Inter star has started two games from two in the tournament alongside Calafiori and spoke very highly of the Bologna centre-back during a meeting with the media.

“I am on good terms with Calafiori. He has enormous quality, he has no fear of playing the ball, and he’s similar to the player I was three years ago,” he said.

“As the coach [Spalletti] said, playing certain games is an important step. We’ve played two games together so I hope we will complete this affinity with time.”

Calafiori made his senior Italy debut on June 4, 2024, against Turkey while Bastoni has 25 appearances with the Azzurri and won EURO 2020 three years ago.

Click here to read Bastoni and Luciano Spalletti’s press conferences in full.