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“You’ve got some engine.” It is a tongue-in-cheek social-media trend that has been almost impossible to miss in recent months, and it could hardly be more apt for Matteo Cichella. Born in 2005, the Frosinone midfielder has earned his first call-up to Silvio Baldini’s Italy Under-21 squad and, after scoring twice in yesterday’s friendly against Empoli Primavera, certainly showed he has “some engine”. Pace, well-timed runs into the box and an impressive work rate, allied with technical quality and an intelligent reading of the game, make him the archetypal modern box-to-box midfielder. A product of Roma’s academy, Cichella is one of five Frosinone players in the Azzurrini squad currently at the CPO in Tirrenia preparing for their final two European Under-21 Championship qualifiers. Italy will remain at the Olympic Preparation Centre until Wednesday 30 September, when they depart for Armenia. Their penultimate Group E fixture takes place the following day at 18:30 Italian time, live on Rai 2, before the Azzurrini return home for a decisive final showdown against group leaders Poland at the Adriatico in Pescara on Monday 5 October.
THE FROSINONE ADVENTURE. “I’m absolutely delighted with the call-up,” Cichella said from the CPO. “I’d been waiting for it for a long time, and I’m proud it has come at this stage of the season.” It has been a flying start to the campaign for Frosinone, one of the surprise packages of the opening weeks of Serie A following their promotion. “Last season gave us emotions that are hard to put into words,” he continued. “We enjoyed every bit of it, helped by the fact we had a young, close-knit group and such a positive atmosphere around the team. “Serie A is a completely different challenge. The surroundings change, the stadiums are different and the level of the players is higher, but we’ve adapted well and our start to the season shows that.”
HIS STORY AND HIS DREAMS. At the opening press conference of the training camp, Baldini praised both Frosinone’s work and that of his fellow coach Alvini. “Beyond their footballing ideas, they’re very similar as people,” Cichella added. “They’re direct, honest and always tell you exactly where you stand. That’s something you really appreciate. “I’m giving everything I have here with the Under-21s. They made me feel part of the group straight away, and I’m trying to learn from everyone around me, watching closely and taking on board as much as I can.” Football runs in the Cichella family: his father, both of his uncles and his grandfather all played the game, and Matteo has had a ball at his feet for as long as he can remember. “I grew up kicking a football around. It was the first present I ever received and I couldn’t imagine my life without it. It’s a family tradition. When I was little, my dad and my uncle would take me to stadiums all over the place. I was immersed in that world from the very beginning and I always dreamed of becoming a footballer.” Football has a habit of bringing stories full circle. Cichella’s family on his father’s side come from Abruzzo, more precisely Silvi, just 17 kilometres from the Adriatico in Pescara, where Italy face Poland on 5 October in their final and decisive European Under-21 Championship qualifier. “To have the chance to play back home, in the place where I spent every summer growing up, will be very special.”
DE ROSSI THE IDOL, BARELLA THE INSPIRATION. Another of Cichella’s dreams is to make his Roma debut one day, having risen through the club’s youth ranks. “Daniele De Rossi was my idol growing up, partly because of the position he played – even though I’m more of a box-to-box midfielder – and partly because of what the shirt meant to him. But if you come through at Roma, there isn’t much choice: it’s either him or Totti.” Cichella says it with a smile, relaxed but clear about where he wants to go. “If I could speak to my younger self, I’d tell him that, little by little, we’re getting there. The road is still long and there are plenty of challenges ahead, so you have to keep working hard and take things one step at a time.” Perhaps one day that path will take him back to the Stadio Olimpico in a Roma shirt, the same ground where Italy’s senior side are in action tonight. “Another major goal of mine is to play for the senior national team. Being with the Under-21s is already a huge source of pride and satisfaction, and I hope I can keep progressing. For now, Barella is the player I look to most because, in terms of his role and characteristics, he’s a great reference point for me.