Italy legend Gianluca Zambrotta hails Riccardo Calafiori’s performance v Albania | OneFootball

Legendary Italian defender Gianluca Zambrotta has hailed the performance of Riccardo Calafiori during Italy’s EURO 2024 opener against Albania.

Calafiori started for Luciano Spalletti’s side against Albania yesterday and while he wasn’t initially expected to start, he played ahead of Alessandro Buongiorno. And he didn’t let anyone down, putting in a performance worth praise in and out of possession too.

While he wasn’t quite the man of the match, there were many great performances in the game and Calafiori’s showing came at a time when very few expected, as it also caught a lot of attention.

Zambrotta spoke to Milan Football Week (via TMW) and he had huge praise for the defender. He said: “He played an extraordinary game, like the whole team in the first 60 minutes. He played with personality, without fear, perhaps the only flaw was on the long ball where we took a risk with Donnarumma’s exit. But he showed some beautiful things yesterday.”

Calafiori’s judgement error nearly made Italy give up a late goal but Gigio Donnarumma made a vital, late save. It remains to be seen if the Bologna man plays in the next game but he has already made a mark.

Kaustubh Pandey I GIFN