“We are children of the stars” Alan Sorrenti sang in 1977. A restless movement, a desire to do, to break the world, to climb to the top of the world… and who knows maybe they will be the stars of tomorrow .
What is certain, however, is that they have already written history by going up to the semi-finals of the Under-20 World Cup . No other national team had come so close from the final. They are the terrible guys trained by Alberigo Evani , and the Italian Under-20 national team that, in South Korea , is reaping victims upon victims, pushing the boundaries of imagination.
In the quarter-finals against Zambia, it is understood that the boys are not joking: in ten from the end of the first half and under a goal up to the 88th minute, the azzurrini managed to overturn the situation by catching the draw and putting the arrow of overtaking in extra time .
In the round of 16 they knocked out their rival French cousins 2-1 , while in the group stage, they finished in second place behind Uruguay.
The jewel that has shone the most in recent days is Riccardo Orsolini , bought by Juventus in January, but who is weaning in Ascoli , his city, the blue top scorer with four goals scored during the tournament. The boy, who made his debut in the Under-20 National Team on 6 October 2016, has already scored seven goals in ten matches.
He is the outpost of a group of boys from 1997, but there are also two 1998 and one 2000 . Orsolini is one of the five players owned by the Juventus club, the most represented before Milan, with three players, and Genoa and Udinese with 2 each. Four of them have already debuted in Serie A, one even in the Europa League .
Beyond how their adventure will go, here are these little future champions who are making us move more and more:
Goalkeepers
Andrea Zaccagnoand the goalkeeper of the Azzurrini. Born in Padua on May 27, 1997 and raised in the Biancoscudati before moving to the Torino Primavera . Owned by the grenades, this year he collected two appearances in Serie B and one in the Italian Cup with the Pro Vercelli shirt ;
Samuele Perisan and the second goalkeeper. Born on 21 August 1997 in San Vito al Tagliamento, in the province of Pordenone, he plays in the Udinese Primavera . This year he played five games in the Primavera B championship and one in the Primavera Cup;
Alessandro Plizzari and the third goalkeeper. He has just turned 17: he was born in Crema on March 12, 2000 and plays for Milan ‘s Primavera. With the Rossoneri club, this year, he played nine times in the Primavera A Championship and two tokens in the Coppa Italia Primavera;
DEFENDERS
Giuseppe Scalera , right back, born in Acquaviva delle Fonti, in the province of Bari , on January 26, 1998. He has already made his Serie B debut, with the Galletti , on December 17, 2016, when he plays all 90 minutes in Bari -Avellino, won by the Apulians 2-0. He plays two more games for white and red before going on loan to Fiorentina on 23 January 2017, which puts him in the Primavera squad with nine appearances in the Primavera championship and one in the Coppa Italia Primavera;
Filippo Romagna, central defender, born in Fano, province of Pesaro and Urbino, on 26 May 1997. Owned by Juventus , Romagna January played in Novara until January with four appearances in Serie B, one in the Italian Cup and one in the Primavera championship; then he went on loan to Brescia where he played continuously: 14 appearances in Serie B;
Mauro Coppolaro is from Benevento and was born on 10 March 1997. He is a central defender, raised in Reggina, now owned by Udinese who, this year, turned him to Latina , where he played 20 games in Serie B;
Giuseppe Pezzella, left-back, was born in Naples on 29 November 1997. He already has two years of experience in Serie A with the Palermo shirt : he grew up in the Monteruscello youth academy, the football school in his hometown, in 2013, at the age of 15 , was bought by Palermo where he did the whole process before making his debut in the top league on 6 December 2015 in Atalanta-Palermo , which ended 3-0 in favor of the Bergamo players, entering in the 65th minute. This year he has collected ten tokens in Serie A;
Federico Dimarco , left-back with a polite foot (see his free kick for the 2-2 against Zambia in the 88th minute) and owned by Inter who shot him this year at Empoliwhere he played 12 games in Serie A and one in the Italian Cup. He was born in Milan on 10 November 1997;
Riccardo Marchizza is a central defender of Roma . He was born in the capital on March 26, 1998. This year, in addition to 22 appearances in the Primavera championship with five goals and six appearances in the Coppa Italia Primavera with three goals, Marchizza also gained experience on the international field: five appearances in the Youth League , but above all one in the Europa League , with the Giallorossi, albeit only one minute against Astra Giurgiu ;
Leonardo Sernicola closes the defensive line. Left-back, born in Civita Castellana, in the province of Viterbo, on 30 July 1997, this year he played in theTernana (his home club) you are present in Serie B and two in the Italian Cup; then from January and on loan to Unicusano Fondi with five appearances in Lega Pro;
Midfielders
Rolando Mandragora and the captain of the National Under-20 . Central midfielder, born in Naples on 29 June 1997, and raised in the Genoa youth sector , making his Serie A debut on 29 October 2014 . Passed to Serie B at Pescara , he was bought by Juventus in January 2016 for six million euros . At the end of April 2016 he was forced to undergo surgery for thefracture of the fifth metatarsal of the right foot that will lead him, even at Juventus, to have continuous trouble . He made his debut with the Juventus shirt on 23 April 2017, taking over from Marchisio in the final of the championship match won 4-0 against Genoa;
Mattia Vitale , central midfielder, was born in Bologna on 1 October 1997. Owned by Juventus , he played the 2016-2017 season on loan at Cesena where he collected 21 appearances in Serie B and three in the Italian Cup;
Francesco Cassata , central midfielder, was born in Sarzana, in the province of La Spezia, on July 16, 1997. He grew up in the Empoli Primavera and moved to Juventuswho, in the last season, shot him at Ascoli finding an excellent continuity: almost always the starter, he took the field 36 times in Serie B, scoring a goal in his debut of the season against Pro Vercelli ;
Paolo Ghiglione was born in Voghera, province of Pavia, on February 2, 1997. He is a right midfielder, owned by Genoa and this year he played for Spal , in the successful ride to Serie A , playing seven games;
Nicolo Barella is the most “mature” of the national team players . Awarded as the best Italian footballer born in 1997 in 2012 and 2013, he was born on 7 February 1997 in Cagliari, where he grew up to play in Serie A consistently. He made his Serie A debut on May 4, 2015 , against Parma, in the match won 4-0 by Cagliari central midfielder. This year he made 28 appearances in the league and two in the Italian Cup. Called up for the World Cup, he only played the first two games, leaving with a hand injury during the Italy-South Africa ;
FORWARDS
Riccardo Orsolini , right winger with the number seven on his shoulders, was born, as mentioned, in Ascoli Piceno on 24 January 1997. He was bought in January by Juventus who beat the competition, but remained at the club for the whole season. Ascoli where he made 41 appearances in Serie B with eight goals and a presence in the Italian Cup;
Andrea Favilli , the central point. Adventure companion with Orsolini in Ascoli to the sound of appearances and goals with 30 tokens and eight achievements. Born in Pisa on May 17, 1997 and raised in the Livorno youth academy , his home club, which toured him at Ascoli;
Giuseppe Panico , also a central striker, was born in Ottaviano (province of Naples), on 10 May 1997. He is owned by Genoa , but this year he played for Cesena with 15 appearances in Serie B, two in the Italian Cup and three in the Primavera championship;
Andrea Bifulco and fellow countryman of Panico. Born in San Gennaro Vesuviano a few months before his age, on January 18, 1997, and raised in football in theNapoli and last season he played on loan at Carpi , making 20 appearances and three goals in Serie B;
Luca Vido , the hero of the extra time victory against Zambia , with the number 10 shirt. Vido was born in Bassano del Grappa, province of Vicenza, on February 3, 1997. He played in the Treviso youth sector until 2009 , before move to Padova, where he played until 2011, when he was bought by Milan . He remained with the Rossoneri until the end of January 2017, when he was loaned for the next six months to the Cittadella , in Serie B. For him 12 games in the cadet tournament with four goals.
The Figchas announced that the semi-final against England will be broadcast in the clear on RaiSport starting at 13:
World Cup # Under20 Tomorrow semi-final Italy-England live at 13 on Raisport and Eurosport 2. https://t.co/qhgPpk3Rfw pic. twitter.com/ptAb4xE7sc
– FIGC (@FIGC) June 7, 2017
