Venezuela coach Fernando Batista confirmed the talks with Milan loanee Daniele Maldini and revealed the 22-year-old’s decision on which national team to play for.
The 22-year-old midfielder, who has made seven competitive appearances for the Italy youth teams since 2019, was contacted by the Venezuela FA last month as they looked to explore a possible national team switch, taking advantage of his eligibility through his mother Adriana Fossa.
The news was met by some concern and disappointment by Italy fans, who had hoped to see a third generation of Maldini represent the Azzurri, following in the footsteps of his grandfather Cesare and father Paolo. The younger Maldini doesn’t look set to be part of Luciano Spalletti’s squad for Euro 2024.
Maldini decision
Speaking to TMW, Venezuela coach Batista confirmed the talks with Maldini and revealed the decision made by the Milan loanee.
“Yes, I talked to him. Both with him and with Paolo, his father. We know that he has the opportunity to play with us because of his mother, who is Venezuelan. We invited him to participate in an internship and in the Pre-Olympic work which was held recently in Venezuela with the Under 23s.
“Daniel thanked me strongly, but told me that for the moment he prefers to continue as so, he wants to see if he can play with Italy. We tried, I spoke to both his father and him to invite him to play.
“For the moment he appreciates it a lot, but he wants to wait and understand if he will be able to play for Italy one day, and one must respect that. However, if one day he wants to change his mind and play for Venezuela, the doors are always open.
“We remained on excellent terms with both Daniel and Paolo, if we need to talk about it again, we will.”
He confirmed that the doors would remain open for Maldini.
“As I said, the doors remain open. I also mentioned this to Daniel. Now he has made the decision to wait for Italy and I respect that, but Vinotinto remains available, and I repeat, if we have to talk about it again we will.
“For our part, the intent is there. At the moment he told us no and we respect his choice.”
He needs to be included in the upcoming friendly matches. The Nazionale cannot afford to take anyone eligible to play for the Azzurri for granted!