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Ten years have gone by, though it feels like only yesterday. It was September 1st 2016 and Italy, under new head coach Gian Piero Ventura, were taking on France in their first friendly of the season. Early in the second half, Gigio Donnarumma came on for none other than Gigi Buffon, making his senior Italy debut at just 17 years and 189 days old and becoming the youngest goalkeeper ever to wear the Azzurri shirt. At the time, few could have imagined that a passing of the torch was taking place that evening in Bari, from a World Cup-winning legend to a future European champion. Two exceptional goalkeepers, but also two charismatic leaders, both defined by their unwavering commitment to the national team through highs and lows alike. Fast forward ten years, and that same sense of responsibility remains. Just two months after the heartbreak of the penalty-shootout defeat to Bosnia in the play-off final, Donnarumma picked up the phone and called Silvio Baldini to make himself available for this training camp. His holidays could wait. “As captain,” Donnarumma explained in his press conference, “I felt it was my duty to call the coach and let him know I was available. The decision was then up to him. I’d also like to point out that all of my teammates would have been happy to be here too, because we’re all eager to get going again and help bring Italy back to where it belongs.”
BIG BROTHER. With 81 appearances for Italy to his name, Gigio now finds himself in the role of the elder statesman in a squad where he is the only player not born in the 2000s. “I’m here to help and to make everyone understand just how important the Azzurri shirt is. I try to bring experience to the group, even though I’m still young myself. These guys have a bright future ahead of them, they really impressed me in yesterday’s first training session in every respect. I also had the chance to meet the coach, and he’s a man with strong values.”
BOUNCING BACK. For a player who has won a European Championship but has yet to play at a World Cup, the defeat in Zenica was particularly painful. Now, however, the focus has to shift to the future, starting with the Nations League next September. “I think this is a wound we’ll carry with us for a while, and that can be a good thing. It will help us grow and make us stronger in the future. The only thing we can do now is move forward. And we’ll do it well, because we have talented young players and a strong group.” Donnarumma also reflected on the squad that, under Gennaro Gattuso, came so close to reaching the World Cup: “After we failed to qualify, I didn’t train for two or three days because it hit me so hard. After the final penalty, it felt like my world had collapsed. It was an incredible blow, worse than the previous ones. I think something special had been created thanks to the coach, the president (Gravina) and Gigi (Buffon). What hurts the most is what happened to them. We have to start again from that. Few times in my career have I seen a group so determined to bring Italy back to the World Cup.”
LOS ANGELES 2028. The Azzurri goalkeeper could feature as an over-age player at the Los Angeles Olympics, should the Italy Under-21 side qualify, something that would mark a return to the Games 20 years after their last appearance. “Hopefully we can make it to the Olympics. I’d do anything for the national team, and if the coach felt it was right to call me up as captain, I’d be more than happy to do it.”
THE NEW HEAD COACH. Among the potential candidates for the Italy job, even Pep Guardiola has been mentioned, until recently Donnarumma’s manager at Manchester City. “I had a great time with the coach. He made history at City and I was hoping he would continue, but he decided it was time to stop. We didn’t talk about the possibility of him coaching the national team, those decisions are not up to me but to the new president. Whoever comes in will definitely have to give everything for the team and work to achieve important goals.”
*SQUAD LIST
Goalkeepers: Giovanni Daffara (Avellino), Gianluigi Donnarumma (Manchester City), Lorenzo Palmisani (Frosinone);
Defenders: Honest Ahanor (Atalanta), Davide Bartesaghi (Milan), Fabio Chiarodia (Borussia Monchengladbach), Pietro Comuzzo (Fiorentina), Costantino Favasuli (Catanzaro), Filippo Mane (Borussia Dortmund), Marco Palestra (Cagliari), Luca Reggiani (Borussia Dortmund);
Midfielders: Matteo Dagasso (Venezia), Giacomo Faticanti (Juventus), Luca Lipani (Sassuolo), Cher Ndour (Fiorentina), Niccolò Pisilli (Roma), Lorenzo Venturino (Roma);
Forwards: Francesco Camarda (Lecce), Luigi Cherubini (Sampdoria), Jeff Ekhator (Genoa), Francesco Pio Esposito (Inter), Seydou Fini (Frosinone), Samuele Inacio (Borussia Dortmund), Luca Koleosho (Paris FC).
*The squad list also includes Tommaso Berti (Cesena), Niccolò Fortini (Fiorentina), Gabriele Guarino (Empoli) and Dominic Vavassori (Atalanta), who will join the training camp for the friendly matches from Thursday 28 to Sunday 31 May.