Roberto De Zerbi says Giacomo Raspadori is ‘the ideal No.9’ and would like to work with the Italy international again in the future, while Xabi Alonso already proved to be an excellent coach at Real Sociedad.
De Zerbi released an extended interview with Cronache Di Spogliatoio on Thursday. Towards the end of the chat, he was asked his thoughts on players and coaches, including Raspadori, who he trained at Sassuolo, and Xabi Alonso, one of the candidates to replace Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool.
De Zerbi, who has been linked with the Reds’ job as well, was also asked his thoughts on Chelsea’s Mykhailo Mudryk, another European star he coached. The Ukraine international and the Italian coach worked together at Shakhtar. Mudryk signed for Chelsea last year but he’s been failing to justify his €70m price tag at Stamford Bridge.
Lastly, De Zerbi praised Bologna star striker Joshua Zirkzee and Real Madrid ace Jude Bellingham, calling the Englishman a ‘unique’ player.
What did De Zerbi say?
On Raspadori – “I see a strong player. He started training with the first team with me at 18. He is an educated guy, a good person, and he is my ideal No.9. To me he has to play as a striker. He is a good guy and I’d love to work with him again in the future because I think he is more mature and even more convinced about himself. He’s a player that every striker would like to have.”
Can he start as a striker for Italy too? “I think so, he already played against Ukraine in Milan. If you have Osimhen ahead of you, it’s another story, but he’s a centre forward to me.”
On Zirkzee – “I remember him at Parma. It’s easy to say that he’s pure talent. Complete, he scores goals, and surely he’s helped by playing under Motta at Bologna. I haven’t watched many Bologna games this season, but those I saw impressed me. He [Motta] is bringing Bologna to an unthinkable level.”
On Mudryk – “He left his country and joined a big club in January when he was very young. Last season, Chelsea had a tough campaign, so he paid for all this. He is a very introverted and needs to be managed in a particular way, but he is an incredible talent. He is among the top players in the world for his potential, but many other things count. The environment and your availability, for example. You need to know that nobody waits for you out there.”
On Xabi Alonso – “He is doing an extraordinary job. His team plays so well. The style is well-defined. He was already good when coaching Real Sociedad’s second team three years ago and he is proving the same in a great club like Bayer Leverkusen.”
On Bellingham – “He is a unique player, he is different from all other players, also from the past. He is a midfielder, but he scores as many goals as a striker. He knows how to tackle, play short passes and long passes and play in tight spaces. I don’t know how many players born like him.”