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Extended Clip - Who Is Riccardo Calafiori? Thiago Motta’s Bologna Masterpiece Wanted By Juventus & Tottenham (Ep. 409)
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After a breakout season under Thiago Motta at Bologna where he's a shoe-in to be called up to Luciano Spalletti's EURO 2024 Italy squad, Nima Tavallaey and Carlo Garganese do a profile deep-dive on Riccardo Calafiori, the Azzurri star who is being linked to Juventus and Tottenham in the Premier League.
This is a clip from the weekly Thursday episode of the Italian Football Podcast.
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Transcript
Introduction to Riccardo Calafiori
00:00:03
Speaker
Welcome to the Italian football podcast. Riccardo Calafiori. Let's do a profile on Riccardo Calafiori.
Calafiori's Impact on Bologna's Defense
00:00:12
Speaker
He's emerged this season as one of the best centre backs in Serie A. He's played a key role in Bologna's Barretail.
00:00:22
Speaker
You know, they're very close now to qualify him for the Champions League, which is amazing. I mean, Bologna haven't been in Europe unless you're counting the Intertoto Cup since, well, this century. And, you know, he's been one of their, along with Joshua Zixi, he's been maybe their most important player after Zixi. I think it could be fair to say, I mean, I think the defense has been one of the best defenses in Serie A. I think they're the third best defense.
Transition from Left Back to Centre-Back
00:01:03
Speaker
position which he was converted into this season by Tiago Motta. He was a natural left back. He came through the Roma youth system as a left back. He was highly rated as a Roma youth player, but he never really made the grade there. He was sold to, were loaned out first and then he was sold to Basel in Switzerland and then brought back to Bologna
00:01:11
Speaker
in the United States.
00:01:28
Speaker
Last summer, I think many people would have expected that much from him when he came to Bologna. And then Motta just turns him into a centre-pack. I mean, what a masterpiece from
Suitability for Motta's System
00:01:40
Speaker
Motta. This is why Tiago Motta is one of the most highly rated and wanted young coaches in Europe.
00:01:47
Speaker
to be able to see that and convert him into a centre-back. Well, it's not to be fair. He did. I mean, when he started playing football, he played as a left fullback in Baluina in the northwest of Rome. That's where he grew up at a club called Petriana.
00:02:05
Speaker
And he started as a left fullback, but he was did throughout growing up. He was played as a central defender as well. So he's always had that kind of, you know, there's been that kind of movement on the pitch for him. But for me, the thing that's been the most impressive thing about him is that Mota has done, is the way that he suits his system. And it's a very, you know, they are defensively solid, but they don't play
Ball-Playing Defender Skills
00:02:35
Speaker
defensive football. He's actually a very good ball playing defender. Some of these diagonals that he plays, these cross diagonal balls, where you shift the
00:02:45
Speaker
you know, which is so difficult to defend against for the opposition team when you shift the ball, because, you know, these sideways movements, when you shift the movement of the, when you shift the attack from left to right, that, you know, you need to get that ball right. You need to get it in terms of speed, in terms of the moment you do it and timing. And he does that time and time and time again, really, really well on top. And this is the thing.
00:03:11
Speaker
on which Bastoni does as well. But the difference is Calafiori's a pain in the butt defensively.
Defensive Prowess
00:03:19
Speaker
He makes life hell for the strikers who play against him. Bastoni's weakness has been his defensive game. Obviously he's improved, he's a fantastic defender, he's a world-class player, blah blah blah. I get that. But Calafiori, I think, his starting point defensively is higher than Bastoni's. Bastoni's attacking phase was much more higher where he started.
00:03:40
Speaker
But Calafiori's defensive game is very, very good. His read of the game, he's got this physical presence that I like in a defender. Yeah, he's aggressive. He's an aggressive defender. It's not headless like Matarazzi was. Matarazzi was a headless lunatic on a pitch. Calafiori isn't. He's actually very... He's a front footer defender, which is the way that modern defenders, most of them are trained and play now.
Offensive Contributions and National Team Potential
00:04:08
Speaker
And the way you have to be able to play in order to play for a top team is they usually play with a high line and they try and win the ball back quickly. And he does that with Bologna. He pushes up onto the attacker and tries to nip in in front of them. And he's very good at, like you said, reading the game and his interceptions. He's one of the top in Serie A for... He's ranked fourth in Serie A this season for interceptions. He averages 1.7.
00:04:37
Speaker
interceptions per match and the only players in Serie A who have more are Alessandro Buongiorno, Adrian Tamizi, who's a midfielder, and Giorgio Scalvini. They're the only players actually in the whole of Serie A with more interceptions than him per game. So he's very good. His use of the ball, like you said, is brilliant. He brings it out of the fence. He joins in the construction of the play like in midfield.
00:05:02
Speaker
and his ball carrying, his progressive ball carrying is great. Yeah, that's very good. He's in the 92nd percentile, percenter backs in Serie A for Patekons and
00:05:14
Speaker
the 84th percentile for progressive carries. His pass success rate is above 90%. And that's despite going for having a very high volume number of passes and also attempting a high difficulty level of passes. So he's not just a Declan Rice pass it sideways kind of guy. He tries vertical passes, cross field, diagonal passes, like you said.
00:05:39
Speaker
You know, he has two assists this season for Bologna. He also has two assists for the other 21. So he's actually like, you know, he's an offensive weapon for the team as well as, you know, being a defender. And he, Luciano Spoletti, Italy's international team coach, has said that he's ready for the national team already. I think he's definitely ready for the national team squad for the squad. He wasn't, he would have, I think definitely would have been called up for the
00:06:06
Speaker
for the Venezuela and Ecuador games at the end of March for the Italy national team. But Spelletti didn't want to deprive the under 21s of a key player for their quality European championship qualifiers. So he played for the under 21s. And we'll see now, I guess.
00:06:22
Speaker
if he'll get a call-up for Urochoa to 24. I think both myself and Unima, we would have him in our squads. There's no doubt about that. There's no doubt about that. He has to come.
Transfer Speculations and National Team Suitability
00:06:32
Speaker
He has to be called up because if he's been called up, then Italy are a weaker side because he's one of the best players in the Serie A in his position. He has to be called up. For me, there's no doubt. Bastoni and him as a left centre back, but the thing is, you can also play him in the middle, Calafiori.
00:06:50
Speaker
uh if if because i think acherbi bastoni have to start uh but then you have banjo no califiori as backups to each of them in those roles um so no no i if you're playing it back through which i think burletti is going to do so
00:07:03
Speaker
But that's also something good about Calafiori and why I think he should be called up is that he can play in the back four as well. So and he's done so really well. So no, there's no doubt, no doubt that Calafiori. He's definitely got a big career ahead of him, I think. And now the question is kind of where will he be next season? Will he leave Bologna? Will he stay at Bologna?
00:07:22
Speaker
and Juventus and Tottenham are the two teams that are leading the chase. Oh, please don't go to the Premier League. I'll be so depressed if he goes to the Premier League. It'll depress the shit from me. No, I want him to stay in Serie A. I want him to stay in Serie A, also because he's 21 years old. I mean, it can happen. I mean, I think with Dodgy, the way that he's
00:07:44
Speaker
He's just instantly settled into Premier League, I think has been fantastic. And Vicario as well. Vicario's a bit older, but like the dodgy at his age, you know, 1920 years old, I mean, California is 21, I think he'll turn 22 in May. You know, on the back of one great season,
00:08:02
Speaker
You know, I think there's a risk involved if he goes to a Serie A club. Juventus and Tottenham both are interested in him. People I've spoken to, Juventus have made Califiori their number one target for the defence. I think it is the right move for you over two. Obviously, as an Interista, I'd love to see him go to Inter, but Inter aren't going to spend that kind of money on him that it will require.
Interest from Top Clubs
00:08:28
Speaker
And given what's happening
00:08:30
Speaker
with with with with with everything that's going on in their defense and so on. They need him. Yeah. You even need him. Inter don't need Calafiori the same way. Juventus are screaming for a defender that like they can build around together with Bremmer. Well, he could possibly be a replacement for Bremmer if Juventus choose to cash in on him and and that could be a possibility because if Juventus
00:08:58
Speaker
go to a back four, there are doubts over Bremmer in a back four. We saw that again. They should be. Last week. They should be. They should be doubts about Bremmer in a back four. He's not good enough. They could choose to cash in on him. Man United are interested, but Tottenham are also interested in him. We know Pareto Chi is their transfer chief. Even though he's officially banned, he's still signing the players. That's why they're signing all these Serie A players and that's why they signed all the Serie A players.
00:09:26
Speaker
You're telling me the Levi crew don't watch Serie A? Well, Paratasci signed Koulousevski, Benzica, Romero, Viviano, Udoja. He's the new Leonardo, Paratasci and he pisses me off. Leonardo used to piss me off because when he went to Ph.D. he used to buy all the Serie A players, he used to take all our best players away from Serie A, he used to piss me off and Leonardo wasn't even a good transfer chief and now
00:09:50
Speaker
he's not a good transfer chief either. He knows the Serie A, he's got contacts there, he just buys all the best Serie A players. Exactly the same thing. He's just watching Italian Serie A broadcasts and putting it down in his notebook and say, oh, I know his agent.
00:10:07
Speaker
Exactly, and he's got big resources now, so he can buy the players, he doesn't even have to be good at his job, he can buy them. Yeah, and he doesn't need to be creative in accounting wise either. Well, with Levi, I mean, yeah, don't be surprised, but yeah.
Potential Under Various Coaches
00:10:22
Speaker
Right, sorry. So yeah, and I would also, I would say that if you just do a point Tiago Matras, then you coach this this summer, and that's also another reason why it's good for category, to go with a coach that
00:10:34
Speaker
knows how to use him. I think even if you went to a point, Antonio Conte, he would work there. I think it's either Conte or Tiago Motta would work. Calafari would work under them. Yeah, exactly.