Italy are now going English to re-build
Patrick Cutrone believes Italy are taking a leaf out of England’s book by giving youth a chance as they try to rebuild.
Cutrone was one of two 20-year-olds who made their debut in the 2-0 friendly defeat to Argentina at the Etihad Stadium on Friday night.
Now he hopes to step out at Wembley on Tuesday as the Italians make their first appearance at the new stadium.
The AC Milan striker was given his chance by Italy’s interim manager Luigi Di Biagio, who has stepped up from his role as Under-21 coach.
That was the path for Gareth Southgate and the similarities between the pair don’t end there.
While Southgate missed the decisive penalty for his country at Euro 96, Di Biagio’s penalty miss saw Italy lose to France in the quarter-finals of the World Cup two years later.
But as England plan for a World Cup, Italy will miss out on the tournament for the first time since 1958 after losing to Sweden in the play-offs.
Cutrone knows that it is still a source of great pain, but insists that the Azzurri must look to the future as they try to bounce back.
“We know that it will be a miserable summer,” says the youngster.
“We still cannot believe that we will not be at the World Cup. We are sorry as individuals and as a whole team.
“The disappointment was so high last November, but we have to start again – players, supporters and all of Italy.
“We cannot think too much about the past and we have to react. England have started with the youngsters and we are starting to do the same.
“I worked with Mr Di Biagio in the Under- 21s and I know him well. He demands the maximum work from his team and he is a great, great coach.”
But while Cutrone is one of the next generation, there remains two pillars of Italian football in the team.
Goalkeeper Gigi Buffon is still going strong at 40 and defender Leonardo Bonucci has been able to guide Cutrone at Milan.
“Buffon is a champion,” he says. “He is a great inspiration among the players and he leads by his experience.
“I’ve played together with Leo at Milan and he’s given me lots of advice.”