Why do so many kids get lost between the Under and the first teams? This is one of the questions asked in the press conference Caleb Okolidefender of the National at his first call-up to the Azzurri. This is his response from the press room at Coverciano: “I don’t really agree, in the Under 21s I had teammates like Fagioli, Ricci, Udogie and Bellanova: they were my teammates and now they are here with me. They are doing great things in the top leagues. We are going in the right direction, more and more young Italian footballers are emerging. Of course, abroad we see 17-18 year old players playing every day, but we are also going in the right direction”.
Then in another passage he added: “Buffon gave a very emotional speech, it struck me straight away. I immediately understood his role in this national team and I am convinced that from now on we will be able to make everyone change their minds about Italy. He said that whatever we do to represent this country should be felt important and I am very convinced that we will be able to do that. As Spalletti and Buffon said, what we must put on the field right away is our personality, we must believe in it right away and bring personality which is the most important thing”.
CLICK HERE for the full press conference Caleb Okoli.