Mateo Retegui ‘couldn’t believe it’ when receiving the first call to play for Italy and admits he moved to Genoa also to work with coach Alberto Gilardino.
The Azzurri are currently in Miami preparing for international friendlies against Venezuela tomorrow evening and Ecuador on Sunday.
Retegui is expected to lead the way for at least one of those matches, especially as Ciro Immobile of Lazio and Atalanta’s Gianluca Scamacca have been left at home.
Although he was born and raised in Argentina, he hails from Italian roots and this made him eligible to play for the Azzurri during a time when Roberto Mancini was struggling to find strikers.
“Mancini’s call was a wonderful surprise for me,” the Genoa striker told CBS Sports.
“A unique moment that surprised me as I couldn’t believe it, now I’m happy and proud to represent this country. I will do everything to stay there. I know it’s difficult, and if they don’t call me, I’ll cheer for my teammates.
“I had just finished training with Tigre, I went out and my father called me telling me the news. It was an incredible surprise. After the goal scored against England my career changed a lot, but I feel it is normal for me.
“I have been training since I was a child to experience this, to play football in Europe and with the Azzurri. Today I’m doing it and I’m happy to enjoy this moment, but I want more. I’m just starting.
“I have to be grateful to both Mancini and Spalletti, as he called me when he arrived. I haven’t seen much Spalletti, but I like him for his personality and we will get to know each other more these days together.”
Following the Italy debut, he made the transfer from Tigre to Genoa, hoping to use the Serie A experience to help him become more accustomed to the world of Calcio.
He is also trained by 2006 World Cup winner Alberto Gilardino, who knows the tricks of the trade, and has contributed eight goals and three assists in 24 competitive games.
“My decision to play for Genoa was for the coach and also to be close to the National Team as I want to play for them. I knew being here makes things easier for the National Team, I needed to play in Italy. I really want to play for the Azzurri, this is why I’m here.
“Gilardino and the staff help me a lot, he is a great coach and they are a great group to work with. The fact that he was a striker helped me to fix some details, but also the team is helping me to be a stronger player and a better person.
“The stadium where we play, Marassi, is incredible. It certainly reminds me of Argentinian football stadiums, one of the hottest for the fans that I’ve played.”
Retegui has been compared to numerous other strikers, including Lautaro Martinez of Inter.
“He’s a great player, a world champion and I respect him a lot, but I don’t really like the comparisons in general. Diego Milito was my example as a footballer, while today Erling Haaland and Harry Kane are the ones I like more. However, my childhood idols were my father and my mother, they were an example of life for me.”