Lorenzo Pellegrini, the Roma captain who dreams of winning the European Championship as a starter

Who is born in Rome and at just 9 years old he began his journey in the youth sector of the Giallorossi, he dreamed of one day making his debut in the team of his city and his heart, but he didn’t even imagine becoming its captain and symbol. Lorenzo Pellegrini and his career are proof that fairy tales are possible. The ’96 class arrived in Trigoria in 2005, remained until the Primavera, made his debut in Serie A in 2014-2015 and was then sold to Sassuolo outright at 1.25 million euros, with his former club reserving the right to buy back at 10 million. In the two years in Emilia he surprisingly played 54 games and scored 11 goals, so the Rome he decides to bet on it and buys it again.

From there began a fairy tale that has lasted 7 seasons, 281 games and 53 goals. His growth is exponential, especially from a scoring point of view: 3 goals in the first year, 4 in the second, 3 again in the third, then the step forward that everyone was expecting. The centers first become 11, then 14, then they return to 8 and finally, in 2023-2024, they reach 10 again. However, criticism has never been lacking because someone who has been the captain of Roma for some time now cannot be forgiven Nothing. Wearing the armband in the capital is perhaps, we give the benefit of the doubt, one of the most complicated things to do in Italian football. The pressures are sky high, everyone’s behavior comes under scrutiny and, as soon as performance drops a bit, the moaning returns forcefully. His palmares has only one trophy, the Conference League, which however is worth so much for the way in which it was achieved. There was no shortage of disappointments, the last period with Mourinho was very difficult, but with De Rossi he was once again central to the project and damned decisive.

His superlative performances at the end of the season allowed him not only to be called up toEuropean, but also to be, at least for now, a starter in Luciano Spalletti’s Italy. The debut against Albania was good, with the assist for the momentary 1-1 by Bastoni, tomorrow he will have another opportunity with Spain. His value could soon skyrocket, the dream of winning a title with the national team, after the one that faded in 2021 due to an injury, is still alive. It’s up to him to crown it. Today Lorenzo Pellegrini turns 28.