Nicolo Barella has sung the praises of former Inter boss Roberto Mancini for the job he’s done with the Italian national team.
Mancini has won 18 of his 27 games in charge of the Azzurri since joining in 2018, drawing seven and losing just twice.
Italy will begin their qualifying campaign for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar on Thursday and Barella knows exactly who is to credit with their excellent form.
Speaking in a docuseries produced by Rai Sport called ‘Sogno Azzurro’ (Italian dream), the 24-year-old said: “Mancini has done brilliantly to bring all the fans closer to the national team again.
“The important thing I’ve noticed with this set of staff is the confidence they give to the players.”
Italy host Northern Ireland in their opening FIFA World Cup qualifier on Thursday, before Mancini’s side travel to Bulgaria on Sunday and Lithuania on March 31.
Barella, Alessandro Bastoni and Stefano Sensi are all likely to be free to join up with the Azzurri for those matches, after Inter recorded no further positive cases of COVID-19 in yesterday’s latest test results.
Former Cagliari midfielder Barella has made 18 appearances for Italy’s senior side since making his debut in October 2018.
He will likely be a key figure on the road to Qatar 2022 as Mancini looks to put Italy’s humiliating failure to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia behind them.
