60 call-ups, 46 appearances and 11 goals for Italy, rising to 101 call-ups, 86 matches and 19 goals if you include his youth-team selections. Giacomo Raspadori's numbers for the Azzurri are hardly those of a newcomer: from Mancini to Gattuso, via Spalletti, over the last five and a half years, since his debut against the Czech Republic in June 2021, the Bentivoglio-born forward has always been there. He will be there again this evening against Belgium at Rome's Olimpico, in the first match of Mancini's second spell.
Raspadori should not start, but he is ready to make his mark off the bench in the second half. With the No.10 on his back. A shirt as prestigious as it is heavy, one the diminutive talent developed at Sassuolo, and launched into top-level football by Roberto De Zerbi, is not afraid to wear. He has always taken on responsibility throughout his career, even when he was not first choice, as at Napoli and in Madrid, on the Atletico Madrid side. He is ready to do the same with Italy, for whom he has never truly been a regular starter or a real driving force. That is also down to the question of role and position. Raspadori can do everything, he can play anywhere, but it is d...