Inter and Italy Under-18 defender Alessandro Bastoni has revealed that “I’m inspired by Sergio Ramos.”
Bastoni joined Inter over the summer from Atalanta but immediately returned to the Orobici on a two-year loan, and the Italy U18 captain did not mention any of the Azzurri’s legendary defenders when asked about his role model in football.
“I’m inspired by Sergio Ramos: he’s not a classic defender that’s big or tall, but one who likes to build up attacks and play football,” he told L’Ultimo Uomo.
Inter and Italy Under-18 defender Alessandro Bastoni has revealed that “I’m inspired by Sergio Ramos.”
Bastoni joined Inter over the summer from Atalanta but immediately returned to the Orobici on a two-year loan, and the Italy U18 captain did not mention any of the Azzurri’s legendary defenders when asked about his role model in football.
“I’m inspired by Sergio Ramos: he’s not a classic defender that’s big or tall, but one who likes to build up attacks and play football,” he told L’Ultimo Uomo.
“I was also lucky enough to develop in the youth sector of Atalanta, where they teach you so much from a technical point of view.
“They always taught me how to play on the deck, and that’s what I do now.
“Nowadays, midfielders with good feet are practically always marked man-to-man by the opposing team, so I think the responsibility of defenders will grow further in time.
“I don’t know whether it’s easier or more difficult now, but today there’s a lot more organisation from a tactical point of view, so it’s not just defenders that have the task of defending, but rather the whole team.
“If it then starts from the forwards, that makes for a good defensive phase and the defenders make it easier for them.
“At the same time, however, defenders participate in the build-up phase and forwards also benefit from their ‘skill’.
“Gasperini? He helped us so much. Although our training sessions weren’t particularly long, the intensity of the sessions, training matches and game concepts, which impressed us, helped me so much, also for when I’m with the national team.
“I think the difficult thing about the transition from Primavera to the first team is adapting to the intensity of the game.
“It takes you a little while to understand what Gasperini wants from you, but once you understand it and remember to stay in front of your man, it’s a style of marking that bears many fruits.
“Two defenders always focus in front [of their man], while the other one covers.
“Often when you recover the ball, you’re practically on goal and so many of our goals came from a defender winning the ball back.”