Davide Frattesi used Italy’s 4-1 win over Turkey to address a difficult period between club and country, insisting that the national side needed a convincing response before travelling to France and arguing that regular football is central to showing the full range of his game.
A needed response after Turkey
- Italy defeated Turkey 4-1, a result Frattesi felt was necessary to protect the renewed confidence around the national-team set-up.
- Frattesi said he had gone two years without scoring and was determined, along with the rest of the squad, to answer the previous evening’s disappointment on the pitch.
- He said the performance had pleased the supporters and warned that a defeat before the trip to France could have made the next step considerably more difficult.
“We had to put in a good performance,” Frattesi said. “We risked losing the enthusiasm that had grown around this group. Going to France after a defeat would have been hard. Instead, morale and belief remain high.”
More bodies around the penalty area
The former Inter midfielder also pointed to the value of having more players close to the opposition goal. He said Italy had found it easier to attack with four or five men arriving in the box, rather than leaving a lone forward isolated.
In his view, wide players moving inside can create important passing options. He contrasted that with previous periods in which the striker could receive possession without a nearby teammate offering support. Frattesi said the side had connected well against Turkey and hoped to build on that approach.
Frattesi rejects a narrow label
Frattesi accepted his own share of responsibility for an inconsistent role with Italy, while also underlining the complications of being used briefly before being asked to start.
“If my international appearances have been intermittent, the first responsibility is mine,” he said. “But it is not easy when you play ten minutes at a time and then suddenly start. Responsibility is shared.”
He pushed back against the suggestion that his game is based solely on late runs into the area. Frattesi argued that a player with confidence can give everything, while one who is uncertain and used only sporadically will naturally rely on his strongest, most familiar quality.
He added that short cameos make it harder to develop understanding with team-mates. Those who watched his first four league matches, he said, should have seen other aspects of his football. Frattesi said he would work even harder to become a fully rounded midfielder.
Gattuso’s daily encouragement
Frattesi reserved warm words for Gennaro Gattuso, Italy’s former coach and now his manager at Lazio, crediting him with restoring his confidence.
“He gave me belief again and that was crucial,” Frattesi said. “He calls me every day — he misses me. I send him my greetings because he is surely watching. If he asked me to walk from Rome to Milan and back, I would do it, because he deserves that.”
