Spain and Liverpool midfielder Thiago Alcantara says Italy are ‘not surprising’ and reveals Robert Lewandowski asks him about Jurgen Klopp.
The 30-year-old children of Brazilian parents was born in Lecce in 1991.
His father, Mazinho, was a footballer who played for the Giallorossi in Serie A.
The Liverpool star is expected to start in the middle of the park for Spain this evening as La Roja meet Poland in their second group stage game at Euro 2020.
Thiago will meet his former teammate Robert Lewandowski in Seville tonight.
“He is a friend of mine, we spent six years together at Bayern Munich. We often video chat, I ask him about Bayern, he asks me about [Jurgen] Klopp, who was his coach at Borussia Dortmund.
“And we talk about being fathers given that we both have sons.”
Spain picked up a draw in their first group stage game against Sweden and need a win tonight to reach the Scandinavians on top of group E.
Which are the candidates to win the Euros, according to Thiago?
“Italy had a formidable start, but it was not a surprise to me. You can be partially surprised by two great results, but Mancini’s team are unbeaten in the last 29 games and won ten in a row without conceding and it’s nice to see how they play.
“France are a solid team, I like to watch the others and think about how to beat them. Other teams can be dominating: Portugal, or Germany for example.
“England have great potential and with players who are developing and then there’s us, with a precise idea that we’ve been developing for a long time, we only need to put the ball into the net.”
Thiago joined Liverpool from Bayern Munich in a €22m move in 2020.
He scored one goal in 30 appearances across all competitions in his first season at Anfield Road.