The blue shirt is tinged with white and blue: there are three Brescians called up by coach Roberto Mancini in view of the “stage”, the first of the year, starting from Wednesday 26 January in Coverciano, approaching the play-offs for the next World Cup March. Faces already known and a beautiful (and young) novelty: in the list drawn up by Mancini there are, in fact, not only Mario Balotelli (third from Brescia ever for appearances in the national team, after Andrea Pirlo and Franco Baresi) and Davide Calabria, but also the very young Giorgio Scalvini, born in Chiari and raised in Palazzolo sull’Oglio and today with Atalanta, where he has already made 6 appearances.
Giorgio Scalvini
Our local Scalvini is one of the most interesting news among the 35 called up by the coach. Born in 2003 and turned 18 last December, he kicked the ball in the Brescia youth teams, before moving on to Atalanta (in 2015). He has already worn the blue shirt on several occasions, starting with the Under 15 national team – his debut in 2018 – up to the Under 21, with which he made his debut last year.
Davide Calabria
Scalvini is a defender as is Davide Calabria, born in 1996 and originally from Adro: he has worn the Milan shirt since he was just 11, after his first steps in Virtus Adrense, and of Milan he is already a column, vice captain and a total of 167 appearances and 7 goals with the Rossoneri shirt, including the championship, the Italian Cup, the Europa Leauge and the Champions League. He has already made his debut in the national team, on 23 November 2020 called up for the first time by Roberto Mancini: he did not take to the field at the European Championships last summer but he participated in two Nations League matches and two matches for the 2022 World Cup qualifiers. .
Mario Balotelli
Finally, Mario Balotelli: spotted in Castelmella for a series of (almost) solitary training sessions, the former European Supermario 2012 (in which he was the leader of the Azzurri, at only 22 years old) and also a former Rondinella, will return to wear the blue jersey (even if, for now, only for the internship) three years after the last time. Balotelli is now under Adana Demirspor, a club in the Turkish top flight: this year in the league he has already scored 7 goals in 18 games. He celebrated the news of the call by posting on Instagram the photo of his famous celebration, just at Euro 2012.
The summoned
To conclude, this is the list (with the teams they belong to) of all 35 called up. The Azzurri will meet already on Wednesday 26 January, for the first afternoon training session, which will be followed by another (always in the afternoon) also on Thursday, and another (in the morning) also on Friday. They will all be behind closed doors. The summoned:
- Goalkeepers: Marco Carnesecchi (Cremonese), Alessio Cragno (Cagliari), Alex Meret (Naples), Salvatore Sirigu (Genoa);
- Defenders: Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Cristiano Biraghi (Fiorentina), Davide Calabria (Milan), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Mattia De Sciglio (Juventus), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Naples), Alessandro Florenzi (Milan), Luiz Felipe (Lazio) , Gianluca Mancini (Rome), Luca Pellegrini (Juventus), Giorgio Scalvini (Atalanta), Rafael Toloi (Atalanta);
- Midfielders: Nicolò Barella (Inter), Bryan Cristante (Rome), Nicolò Fagioli (Cremonese), Davide Frattesi (Sassuolo), Manuel Locatelli (Juventus), Matteo Pessina (Atalanta), Samuele Ricci (Empoli), Stefano Sensi (Inter), Sandro Tonali (Milan);
- Forwards: Mario Balotelli (Adana Demirspor), Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo), Federico Bernardeschi (Juventus), Ciro Immobile (Lazio), Lorenzo Insigne (Naples), Joao Pedro (Cagliari), Giacomo Raspadori (Sassuolo), Gianluca Scamacca (Sassuolo), Mattia Zaccagni (Lazio), Nicolò Zaniolo (Rome).
