After playing a vital part in Italy’s Euro 2020 triumph, Federico Chiesa will be hoping to guide his nation toward another memorable European Championship campaign.
The Azzurri certainly earned their qualification the hard way, surviving a major scare against Ukraine, but the nation usually reserves its best for the finals.
For his part, Italy manager Luciano Spalletti will be hoping that his men produce the goods come June, especially after being pitted in a tough group along with Spain, Croatia and Albania.
Nevertheless, the former Inter, Roma and Napoli manager is certainly a keen admirer of the Juventus star.
Spalletti only had words of praise when discussing Chiesa, placing him amongst a rare breed of players who can improvise solutions at any given moment.
“Chiesa is one of those players who belong to the rare beauty of illusionist football,” said the Italy boss in his interview with Il Corriere della Sera via Calciomercato.
“Footballers like him make the fortunes of coaches. They give you solutions that don’t exist on any of the blackboards.
“The qualities of talented players are superior to the instructions that a coach can give.”
Chiesa’s career suffered a major blow after sustaining a horrific ACL injury in January 2022. While he made his return to action last season, the forward is only beginning to rediscover his pre-injury this term.
The Italian has scored four goals and provided two assists in 13 Serie A appearances this season.