The Shortlist: Riccardo Calafiori
A coveted, pressure-killing centre-back for your shortlists.
This is The Shortlist — the quick, digestible way to get to know football’s hottest property, as told by the scouts who’ve watched them.
During the EUROs this summer, The Shortlist will run as a EUROs Stars of the Future series — highlighting the players we’re tipping to light up the tournament for years to come.
Stephen Ganavas is our Analysis Editor here at SCOUTED. He is a Serie A and Italy specialist, no matter how little sleep he’s had.
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SCOUTED: I usually start by asking why you think readers should be excited by this player. But in the case of Riccardo Calafiori, most already are. His performance against Albania won fans at a rate I haven’t seen in a while - it was kinda remarkable. Why have people fallen in love with him so quickly, do you think?
STEPHEN: Well, it started with just aesthetics. People were throwing around the word ‘aura’ like crazy.
And when a guy appears from knowhere, when it’s least expected - there wasn’t much talk of him going to the tournament in the first place - and then he just steps into a game, looks super comfortable and in complete control and at all times, with everyone watching…people talk.
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