Former Torino star Ciccio Graziani admitted that he was impressed with the recent performances of Inter midfielder Nicolo Barella, and felt he resembled Manchester United legend Paul Scholes.
Barella has been in fine form for the Nerazzurri and scored for the third consecutive game in Inter’s 3-0 victory over Sampdoria in Serie A yesterday, with a stunning combination of control and accuracy to drill into the top corner.
In an interview with Italian television broadcaster Sport Mediaset earlier today, and as reported by FCInter1908.it, Graziani felt that Barella’s high standards meant that he was unfairly criticised, but he had every attribute needed to be as complete a midfielder as former England star Scholes.
“He’s a phenomenon, but the problem is that criticism begins to arrive when he plays a game at 5.5 or 6,” Graziani argued.
“He can’t play 38 games like that, but Barella is very good, he looks like Scholes, he attacks, scores, assists, he’s like a moped with his movement. He’s very good.”
Graziani also offered his thoughts on Inter’s return to form and greater defensive solidity after a rocky patch, as they secured passage from a Champions League group containing Bayern Munich and Barcelona, whilst putting together a good run in Serie A.
“Inter are fine, they have recovered, getting through in the Champions League was not at all easy. They are returning to being the Inter we admired last year,” he claimed.
“Now we’re seeing the real (Milan) Skriniar again, not his cousin. (Alessandro) Bastoni has improved, (Stefan) De Vrij is fit again and now there is more confidence in the team.
“The worst is over, now Inter are back, we don’t know where they will end up but they will get very close to the top, I’ll put my hand in the fire to predict that and I won’t burn it,” he concluded.
