Interview with the midfielder promoted to Serie A with Emanuele Gamba's Cremonese
Before the rich Monza, the young Cremonese had arrived in Serie A, with five boys on loan: the Atalantians Carnesecchi and Okoli, the Neapolitan Gaetano and the Juventus Zanimacchia and Fagioli. Four of them play in the U21 (Zanimacchia is out of age) and have already been spotted by Mancini. The two from Bergamo will return to the base, the other three Diesse Giacchetta - protagonist of the enterprise together with another piece from the old Milan, Ariedo Braida - would like to keep them, because they can play here. And they want to play, Juventus Fagioli most of all.
Nicolò Fagioli, then is it true that you can also win with boys? "Of course. We are proud to have done it with the youngest team in the championship, for me it is a special satisfaction ».
In Serie B, three goals and seven assists. Wasn't he ready for A yet? «I'm different than when I arrived, it was an experience that made me grow, but I can't know if I could have already been in Serie A because there is no counter-proof. I'll try to prove it in the coming season ».
What do young people bring to a high-ranking team? "We have given quality and I also think enthusiasm to the greatest players, especially off the pitch."
You mean, have you messed up? "Casinists no casinos. We had fun together ».
Did you find your role? «I was a director, a finisher and a mezzala: it's the ideal position, like that of my Modric model. I would like to be on the field like him ».
Many of his peers abroad play regular players. «It's very true: Haaland is a 2000, he is still very young but he doesn't seem like it. It depends on what you do, on who you are, there is no absolute criterion for establishing what is the right age to succeed ".
Is Italy the right place? «It seems to me that things are changing, in the national team and in Serie A there are more and more spaces for us youngsters and I am happy about it. In the U21 we are strong, Carnesecchi and Okoli are great players, Tonali is very strong, Lucca can become one, Ricci and Rovella are good ».
Is Tonali the model to aim for? «Tonali is a motivation. He has always had a lot of space and little pressure, they helped him when he had difficulties, they waited for him and the results were evident, even in the tranquility with which he is on the pitch ».
You were in Juve's U23: is the experience in Serie C formative? «For me it was fundamental. In the Spring we are too small, physically the comparison with those of the first team cannot be held: either you are a phenomenon or the jump is really difficult. The U23 puts you in competition with adult people, it makes you accustomed to real football ».
Do you feel ready for Juve? «I don't want to think about the future yet, I have been coming for 9 long and very good months. I took two weeks off and now I'm thinking about the Under 21 team, then we'll see. I would gladly stay at the Cremonese ».
His attorney, Andrea D'Amico, had said long ago: no more loans. And his contract expires in a year ... «I know what they're doing. I perceive that at Juve there is esteem for me ».
In 2018 Allegri said: “Seeing Fagioli play is a pleasure”. "I learned that sentence by heart and over time I almost got sick, also because then people immediately think that you want to do the phenomenon and put pressure on you."
Had he said those things to her in person too? "No, but I understood that he was thinking of them."
“He knows the timing of the game, he knows how to miss, when you pass the ball, how”: Did Allegri get it right, with the description? «I think he is right, I think my main quality is to understand the game and to set the times. I know it is an innate gift, it is difficult both to teach it and to learn it ».
What have you learned at Cremonese? “To be in a group. Pecchia's schemes, on the other hand, I already knew, because he had trained me in Juve Under 23 ».
What is the flaw of youth that has yet to be eliminated? "I have to learn to stay on track for 90 'and not leave the game."
Is this why Juve did not consider him ready? «I wanted to play, I was interested in playing. I had been preparing for the summer with the first team but I knew that Locatelli would arrive, moreover as European champion: I would have had little space, if I had stayed ».
Where will Fagioli arrive? «I would like to win the World Cup in 2026. If slowly we all get to work for the good of Italian football, we can do it. After all, who thought that in 2006 we would win? "
There are midfielders younger than you, like Pedri and Camavinga, who will try to win the World Cup this year: do you feel up to them? «Pedri is really strong, I saw Camavinga against City: he immediately gave a feeling of security, of quality, he didn't look like a kid. But I think I can play with him ».
