After the good success of the striker from Tigre, scorer of two goals in two games with the Azzurra, coach Mancini admitted that he has to look outside for what he cannot find inside
Unlike the Italian purists who are annoyed because Mateo Retegui does not speak the language of Dante, coach Roberto Mancini is satisfied because the Tigre striker knows the universal language of goal. You learn to speak, the goal is brought from the cradle. The experiment, which was still an uncertain bet, turned out to be satisfactory. Overnight, Retegui found himself in another country, with teammates he didn't know, in a football different from Argentina and in an Italian team in training, but with a heavy shirt for the four stars of their world titles .
He made his debut against England on Wednesday and scored a goal, with a right cross. Mancini backed him up with a second consecutive start in an almost completely renovated formation, and Retegui was quick to respond with the same this Sunday, with a header after a corner, in the 2-0 away win against Malta, for the second date of the qualifying for the European Championship in Germany.
His position in the 4-3-3 scheme was center forward, flanked by Matteo Politano and Degnand Gnonto (his parents are from the Ivory Coast). At the hymn ceremony, the 23-year-old striker sang some verses of the Italian homeland song. The day before, Mancini had come out in defense of Retegui, criticized from some sectors of Calcio because he has no close ties to the country and after the match against England he gave an interview to RAI in Spanish, assisted by a translator. "He's been here for three days, it's normal for him to continue speaking Spanish: it's a meaningless controversy!" said the DT.
The adaptation is going at an accelerated pace, although minutes before the match Mancini had said that "it needs more time because it is not easy to make the leap from Argentina to Italy in four days." The No. 19 quickly met the demand of a team that went looking for goals outside its borders, after the frustration of being left out of the last World Cup, in a Playoff against North Macedonia. Retegui joined the short list of players who scored in their first two games with the Azzurra: Giorgio Chinaglia (1972), Enrico Chiesa (1996) and Riccardo Orsolini (2020).
In the second half he was close to scoring twice, with a definition of air from the right that went over the crossbar and a header, which also went high.
After playing 90 minutes against England, Retegui was replaced by Gianluca Scamacca 21 minutes into the second half. Mission accomplished, he sat on the bench, surrounded by teammates he never imagined having until Italy approached him early this year about calling him up. "He still needs time, he must know European football, but he knows how to score and that is an important quality," Mancini said at the post-match press conference.
Although in some calcium environments there is resistance to the globalization of the Nazionale, Mancini made it clear that it is a policy in which he will persist. And he gave his reasons: “It is a possibility that there will be more summoned from abroad. We have a minimal percentage of Italians who regularly play in Serie A. If we look at other countries, they all do. In Switzerland, 15 out of 20 players are from Italy. Also Belgium. France, Germany and England pay attention to the natives”.
Mancini referred to the new reality of Italian football: “Until a few years ago, we had a lot of strong players and we didn't need outsiders. The others did, they often took players that we had helped to develop and mature. So now we will adapt and do the same."
According to sources close to the Azzurra, in the list of potentials that can be probed for a subpoena there are several Argentines : Nicolás Capaldo (in Salzburg, recommended by Daniele De Rossi, who was his teammate in Boca), Gino Infantino (Rosario Central) , Juan Sforza (Newell's), Gianluca Prestianni (Vélez), Facundo Buonanotte (Brighton), Pedro de la Vega (Lanús), Facundo Colidio (Tigre, with a spell at Inter, owner of his pass) and Guiliano Galoppo(Saint Paul). Infantino and Buonanotte are currently part of the Argentine squad, but according to the regulations they are still in a position to change teams because they did not play a minimum of games. Bruno Zapelli (Belgrano) has already been called up for the Under 21s in Italy .
After this first positive experience, Retegui surely earned a place on the next list. In mid-June, Italy will face Spain in the Nations League. At that time, it is likely that Retegui's European destiny will also pass through his career as a club player. To the good regard that he brought for what was done in Tigre, where he was the top scorer in the previous Professional League and continues to be so in the current one, we must add this impact with Italy.
When the pass book opens in the middle of the year, his transfer to the Old Continent is presumed inevitable. Those interested in your pass will not be missing. Both in Italy, with Inter, Milan and Lazio in first place, and in Spain, with Atlético de Madrid, a club with which there have already been contacts and there is a good predisposition on both sides. Mancini encourages the transfer: "Having Retegui in Serie A would make him stronger, it would help him learn the language and, consequently, to have a better dialogue with his teammates on the pitch."
A good deal is coming up for Boca, owner of the pass, and Tigre, who for 2.3 million dollars can execute a purchase option for 50 percent of the pass. Transfermarkt, the site specialized in player listings, established Retegui's latest value at 8 million euros. It is very likely that this figure will increase as of this week.
In the next few hours, Retegui will rejoin Tigre, where he did not score in the last three games, which coincided with three defeats. On Saturday, against Lanús, the Matador awaits his goals, those that Italy came looking for with a good eye.
Source images:Twitter UEFA Eurocopa.