Italy goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu spoke about his experience with the Azzurri, the reason he left Torino and his relationship with Gigio Donnarumma. ‘At times the criticism was too heavy’
Sirigu appeared at the end of one group stage match when the Azzurri lifted the European Championship, but reports have revealed he was a vital member in the dressing room this summer.
“There’s no secret, I was myself,” Sirigu told Sky Sport Italia. “I have been fortunate to play in so many competitions with the national team, maybe I knew what the team and the group needed.
“I put my experience at the disposal of the group. For me, however, it’s nothing new.”
But the rumours regarding the transfer market continued during the competition this summer and Sirigu was one of the players linked with a move away from Torino.
“The market is part of our life every summer, regardless of the European Championship,” he said. “It’s undeniable that certain news can be on everyone’s lips even in the dressing room.
“Some were outlined, others developed during the tournament, even if they never existed. There have never been too much attention.
“For Donnarumma himself, we knew that his contract expired on June 30 and we already knew how it would end. However, we are all used to being at the centre of rumours and negotiations. It’s part of our job and fortunately it didn’t distract us at all.”
Manuel Locatelli has excelled at Sassuolo and continued to impress with the national team at the Euros, but Sirigu revealed his growth and the rumours of a move to Juventus was not a topic.
“I didn’t talk about, also because it would have been the wrong person to talk to me about Juventus,” Sirigu said. “Especially at the beginning, he was very focused, he was very focused on the game and on enjoying the moment.
“He was focused on the team and not on the transfer market, which is a consequence of what we saw at the European Championship.”
Sirigu sent messages of support to his Italy teammates ahead of the games and said it was something that ‘came about by chance’.
“The message thing came about by chance,” he added. “Ahead of Italy vs. Turkey, I wrote a message to the team in our group chat.
“From that moment it became almost a ritual, I prepared it first because it took time. And everyone was waiting for it.
“In football, there are rituals and superstition, so we continued. Even the personalised messages were quite spontaneous. The afternoon of the Final, I couldn’t sleep, I had some blank sheets, and I wrote a personal thought about each one, even making a video with my family members. When [captain Giorgio] Chiellini saw it, he was moved.”
Sirigu was then asked what he would have written about himself, and said: “I don’t know, they are spontaneous things. I tried to be a support for everyone, I tried to charge us as much as possible.
“After this rush of emotions, which was useful, we were a team with heart and soul, in all respects. I have known Chiellini for a long time, I saw him with a strange serenity.
“He had fun, he enjoyed it, he took everything with a smile. He was always positive, and he was really our guide. Luck comes when you look for it and Giorgio deserved it.”
Sirigu spent six years at Paris Saint Germain and revealed he spoke to former Milan shot stopper Donnarumma about life in the French capital.
“I talked to him about the city,” Sirigu said. “But he’s an intelligent lad and doesn’t need advice.
“Before the penalties? Yes, we talked. But they’re our things and they will remain so. He’s a lad who listens and makes himself available and tries to learn from everything and everyone.
“If he made this choice, it’s because he’s sure of it, it’s because they wanted him. They have a strong goalkeeper in [Keylor] Navas, but if you want the best, you must also make sacrifices.
“If I was an ambitious team and I could get the best goalkeeper on a free transfer, I would. Even if I have a strong one at home. The opportunity was too good.”
Sirigu said Napoli winger Lorenzo Insigne’s ‘tactical growth’ was important for the Azzurri and said both him and Lazio striker Ciro Immobile contributed defensively.
“He’s had a tactical growth, he became a very smart player,” Sirigu said. “He has a favourite position, which is the wide one at left, because he can do everything with his right.
“But he was also very disciplined tactically and helping to cover. If we did well defensively, we also owe it to him and Immobile.”
Sirigu left Torino after four seasons and is currently a free agent, but reports have claimed he is close to joining Genoa in Serie A.
The Sardinian revealed he was ‘bothered’ by the ‘criticism’ at the Granata and didn’t feel that anyone defended him.
“Great criticism arrived, at times I overlooked them and at times they were a stimulus,” he admitted. “But at times they were too heavy and bothered me.
“I don’t show up in the media and on social media, I collect and shut up. But sometimes I spit poison. It bothered me that no on defended me, for once I deserved it at least as a person.
“The farewell? It happens in football, we had reached the end of a cycle and that’s it. I have some regrets, yes, it’s not easy to leave a team where you left your heart and from guys I love.
“But you have to face reality, see if you are appreciated… Sometimes you need to see what has been done to keep a player, not only in the months of the market.
“I have values and when they fail, it annoys me.”
The 34-year-old continued to say that he will reveal his future ‘in the next few days’.
“In the next few days you will know everything. I’m happy.”