Lautaro is out again. Pio Esposito, now it’s up to you not to make people miss him: is there something of the Toro you would like to have?
“He is very complete, but what stands out is his aggressiveness, his passion, the hunger he has. Even in training he plays as if it were a World Cup final.”
Do you know how to be “aggressive”?
“I think I always carry with me the blood of the Cicerone neighborhood in Castellammare di Stabia. That famous ‘cazzimma’ brought me here, from Serie B to the Champions League. It takes a lot of courage not to get discouraged and to show that you belong here.”
For someone who moved to Brescia at age 6, is everything else easier?
“At the beginning I cried every night to go back home. I was a child with a lot of anger, short-tempered, both at school and on the pitch. Then I adapted very well, changing completely.”
Are you hard on yourself?
“I do a lot of self-criticism, I review the matches, the mistakes, and I blame myself. But I think it’s positive. I believe I’ve lived this first year with great calm and balance. And I’m very happy because the step up has been huge.”
Opposing fans think you are hyped by the media.
“There is exaggeration, both in a positive and negative way. I’m a 20-year-old coming from Serie B, who hasn’t been given anything, who is doing well in his first season at Inter, but who hasn’t done anything yet to deserve certain comparisons. But it’s not my fault. I’ve never said I’m a phenomenon or worth 100 million. I’m just someone who gives his best every single day.”
How did you feel in Zenica after the missed penalty?
“It was hard to process the disappointment right away. I kept staring at one point and couldn’t understand what had happened. I felt at rock bottom. The first thought was that I had let down my teammates, the people at home, my friends, my family.I will take penalties again, I will score and I will miss some. That day I was convinced to take responsibility and shoot first, I felt confident, but it went wrong.”
Is there a lesson in this defeat?
“I saw a team that gave everything, mostly with one man down, creating several chances. It wasn’t enough and it’s not enough. Italy has the obligation to go to the World Cup, we must take responsibility.”
They say you are a ‘young old player’. These words prove it.
“In football that’s a compliment. I think it’s because of my seriousness, professionalism and the commitment I always put in. With the right approach.”
Do you handle the pressure of the job on your own?
“For a few months now I’ve been working with a sports psychologist. I open up, and he gives me practical advice. It helps me a lot and I enjoy going deeper into it.”
Pisacane, Cagliari’s coach, said he studied Generation Z, ‘which lives on applause and little criticism’. What do you think?
“He is much more informed than me, but I think it’s subjective. I consider myself lucky to have spent two years at Spezia in Serie B. In the first I struggled a lot, I felt the jump from youth level, I scored only 3 goals and we survived on the last matchday.”
Was that the turning point of your career?
“You risk losing confidence in yourself, but it’s up to you to have the strength to react and find yourself again. I have to thank coach Luca D'Angelo. The survival goal against Venezia on the last matchday was my turning point. And I turned down a better salary at Sampdoria to stay with those who believed in me. I think it was the best choice of my life.”
They say you absorb everything and that it’s impossible not to like you. What do you think?
“Learning as quickly as possible from teammates and staff is part of the work approach I mentioned. Maybe it’s my greatest strength. Then, to reach the level of certain champions, hard work is the main weapon.”
After the 5–2 win against Roma on Easter Sunday, are you optimistic about the title?
“We needed a convincing performance like that, in addition to the win. There is optimism and we fully believe.”
Do you have a moment or anecdote that shows your bond with Chivu?
(takes his phone) “This photo, where we celebrate one of my goals in an Under-14 derby, won 3–1, shows how long we’ve known each other. I owe him a lot for the trust he has shown in me, including this summer.”
Would you have stayed at Inter with another coach?
“I can’t know, maybe it would have been more complicated. Chivu certainly has a special tendency toward young players and already knew me.”
Are you your mother’s favorite, since you’re the youngest?
“That has always been my brother Salvatore Esposito (the oldest, who plays for Sampdoria; Sebastiano is at Cagliari).”
What role did your sister Annamaria play in your development?
“I talk to her every day. I’ve always seen her as a second mother and she helped me with everything. From school matters, since she later became a teacher, to family issues.”
In your free time, do you play video games or sleep like Marcus Thuram?
“No, actually after matches I don’t sleep at all because of the adrenaline. I spend time with people I care about, I don’t play video games, and now I’ve started an English course. I really want to improve it.”
Did you like school?
“I was very good in elementary and middle school, then football became more important, but I graduated as a surveyor. My favorite subject was always geography. My worst subject? Math. I never understood anything. Zero.”
As a child, did you dream of becoming a policeman like Hakan Çalhanoğlu?
“No, I always wanted to be a footballer and I achieved that first dream. Now I have to chase all the others.”
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