Alvaro Morata has spoken about the Italy squad before the Azzurri take on Spain this Thursday.
He thanked his former Juventus team-mates for “treating me incredibly well” and doesn’t believe that Giorgio Chiellini’s suspension will hurt Italy too much when they take on Spain later this week.
The striker was reminded by La Gazetta dello Sport that Chellini will not feature after his red card vs Israel last month, an automatic ban meaning he will not be eligible for the meeting with La Roja.
Alvaro Morata has spoken about the Italy squad before the Azzurri take on Spain this Thursday.
He thanked his former Juventus team-mates for “treating me incredibly well” and doesn’t believe that Giorgio Chiellini’s suspension will hurt Italy too much when they take on Spain later this week.
The striker was reminded by La Gazetta dello Sport that Chellini will not feature after his red card vs Israel last month, an automatic ban meaning he will not be eligible for the meeting with La Roja.
"Thank god,” Morata laughed. “My ankles are thankful, although I have a great desire to see him, Leo [Bonucci], Andrea [Barzagli] and Gigi [Buffon].
“We are always in touch, sending videos, photos, messages, I want the best for them because when I got there I was pretty much a youth team player from Madrid and they treated me incredibly well.
“I will always be grateful. Chiello, Leo, Andrea helped me so much… Especially giving me a lot of kicks in training!”
He was then asked how the absence of Chellini would change Italy’s backline, but Morata insists that the other defensive options available to coach Giampiero Ventura are also excellent.
"I do not believe it changes much,” Morata continued. There is [Angelo] Ogbonna or [Davide] Astori who can play on the left and they are very good players.
“I know Angelo well, we were together at Juventus and we stayed in touch: he is a great person and great player.
“Astori is good and physically strong so it will be difficult. When it comes to defending, Italy is the world's best national team.”