Italy coach Roberto Mancini said Wednesday that his new striker Mateo Retegui reminded him of Argentina great Gabriel Batistuta, as the Tigre forward prepares for a possible Azzurri debut against England.
Mancini’s side kick off the defence of their European title in Naples on Thursday and hinted that Argentina-born Retegui could make his first appearance for his new national team after being called up for the first time for the opening Group C qualifier.
“I don’t want to exaggerate but he reminds me a bit of Batistuta when he arrived in Italy... he’s a young man, he needs to get to know his teammates, and that’s not easy,” Mancini told reporters.
“I don’t think it’s very easy to come to Italy, and not to a club, but to the national team. We’ve got a lot of faith in him but we need to give him a bit of time.”
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