La Gazzetta dello Sport reports Italy’s doors for Gianluca Scamacca are ‘wide open’ even if the Atalanta forward was not called up for games against Venezuela and Ecuador because he had spent a night awake playing PlayStation before a match against Ukraine.
Italy coach Luciano Spalletti is ready to include Scamacca in the Azzurri squad for Euro 2024, according to a report on La Gazzetta dello Sport’s printed edition on Friday on page 15.
The pink paper reports that Italy’s doors are ‘wide open’ for the Atalanta striker, who has scored six goals in the last seven matches for La Dea.
The Gazzetta report confirms Scamacca was not called up for Italy’s latest games against Venezuela and Ecuador because Spalletti was unhappy with his attitude.
The Azzurri boss, in fact, had found out Scamacca had spent a night awake playing PlayStation ahead of a key Euro 2024 qualifying fixture against Ukraine in November, so he didn’t include him in the team for the following international friendlies.
“If modernity is playing the PlayStation until four in the morning when there is a match the next day, then this modernity is not good,” Spalletti said in February, without mentioning Scamacca directly.
“We live in a world that gives little incentive to hard work and sweating things out, today’s kids prefer to put a photo on Instagram with their hair done rather than lowering their heads and working. These are not the values that my Italy must transmit.”
Scamacca, on the other hand, was asked last month if Spalletti hadn’t called him because of PlayStation, but his reply was pretty vague.
“Honestly, I don’t know. People talk, but they are not in the room with me at night and they don’t know what I do. So many things have been said, but I know the truth and those who know me are aware of what person I am.”
Scamacca joined Atalanta from West Ham last summer and has netted 15 goals in 36 appearances with La Dea this season.