Nicolò Zaniolo says he prefers playing as a right winger but complains that journalists label him as ‘disrespectful.’
The Aston Villa attacker started in Italy’s 2-1 win over Ukraine on Tuesday, creating a couple of goal-scoring opportunities for the Azzurri in the second half. Zaniolo spoke to the media in the mixed zone at San Siro after a post-match interview with Sky Sport Italia.
“It was important to win because we are not the ones we saw in North Macedonia. The coach wanted us to leave everything on the pitch because we could only win. We are happy because we played well too. It was a perfect night,” Zaniolo told reporters, including Football Italia.
“I always do what the coach wants, I am always available,” he continued.
“You [journalists] often label me as disrespectful, but it’s not true. I am always available for any team I play for. I am just happy about tonight.”
Zaniolo played as a right winger at San Siro and was asked if this is his favourite position.
“I can play as a winger, attacking midfielder or box-to-box midfielder, but at the moment, that [right wing] is where I play better. I have things to improve, but the coach has given me advice about the attacking and defensive phase and I felt confident on the pitch.”
Lastly, the 24-year-old was asked how playing for the national team feels and which errors he and his teammates made against North Macedonia.
“As soon as you enter Coverciano, you feel history. We are the second country for World Cup victories. We have a great group, a family, and we only focus on what happens on the pitch, not outside.
“We made errors against North Macedonia, myself included. Perhaps I should have tracked back earlier, we paid a high price for some details, and I believe we were unlucky too. Today, we had the same approach, but we managed to score more goals this time.”
The ex-Roma striker was introduced from the bench in the second half against North Macedonia on Saturday, but committed a foul leading to the Macedonians’ late equaliser from a free kick.
Zaniolo made his senior Azzurri debut in 2019 under Roberto Mancini and has scored two goals in 15 international appearances.
ater 2006 down hill we wentno euro 2010 last place 2014 could not make it out of our group 2018 could not get 1 point against sweden 2022 we could not beate macedonia position means nothing lets not celelabrate this a disease that needs to be adressed quickly