Marco Verratti says that 'football is total, and I'm a total Italian' as he describes his time with Paris Saint-Germain.
The midfielder is arguably the most promising player in the Azzurri squad, even though he has uncharacteristically been playing abroad for the last three years.
“I feel very, very Italian in my play!” he told the French magazine Optimum. “I'm quite technical and I love nice moves.
Marco Verratti says that 'football is total, and I'm a total Italian' as he describes his time with Paris Saint-Germain.
The midfielder is arguably the most promising player in the Azzurri squad, even though he has uncharacteristically been playing abroad for the last three years.
“I feel very, very Italian in my play!” he told the French magazine Optimum. “I'm quite technical and I love nice moves.
“But I also like to intercept balls and start a counter. To attack well, you must know how to defend.
“I take real pleasure in hearing that my game is good as I worked hard on these combinations in training.
“In modern football certain teams don't think about defending. Me, I feel Italian and I never forget that side of the game.
“But I also remember how to attack, as all of my compatriots know that defending is not enough. Being a footballer nowadays means knowing how to do both things. Football is total and I am a total Italian.”
The 23-year-old was then asked to describe the differences between Italian and French football.
“Italian football is highly tactical, that's why it's so hard to play for all foreign teams. It's the same thing in the national team, we spend a lot of time working on set-ups.
“In France, work is not systematic. Training is very different, we work primarily on the physical side.
“In the French championship, the players have greater freedom, while in Italy there's someone on your back as soon as you touch the ball.
“In Italy even amateurs love tactics, because it's part of our culture.
“My relationship with referees? I guess that's one of my weaknesses as an Italian! When I see something that I believe in wrong, it's hard for me to stay quiet.
“So when a ref took a decision I considered to be wrong, I involved myself a bit too much. It's not entirely my fault, in Italy there's a different relationship with the referees. Players talk to him a lot and he accepts that.
“But here they don't like that and I picked up quite a few yellow cards. I learnt to be more diplomatic over time. I understood that talking too much poisoned the situation. Now I don't question the ref's decisions that much anymore.
“But that didn't change my thirst for victory. I just added a few things, I added more control to my actions and my emotions on the pitch.
“I matured. I talk less and I play more. But my involvement in the game and my sense of self-sacrifice are still there.”