At nineteen, many young people face some first experiences of the 'adult life'. There are those who move to live alone, those who start working, those who choose to travel, or those that choose obtain their license. Nicolò Zaniolo (born in 1999), in recent months, has done something much more than all of the aforementioned experiences. After his transfer to Roma last summer, having grown at Inter's youth academy, the playmaker made his debut in the Champions League with the giallorossi, followed by the Serie A TIM when Roma played Frosinone. Before that, Roberto Mancini had decided to call him in the national team. To SkySport microphones, Zaniolo described the emotions of these first months as a professional.
"I expected a lot less to happen than what actually did. I would like to continue on this path. My debut at the Bernabeu against Real Madrid for the Champions League was crazy, I could not describe it. My legs were trembling, thank goodness De Rossi was there to give me a hand. Once on the pitch, however, I only thought about playing football."
"I did not expect the call-up to the Italian National Team. I was in front of the TV when I found out. I called my father and we went to Coverciano. I hope that in the future I will succeed, I played with champions like Chiellini and Bonucci and I tried to learn as much as I could although I had little time available. Mancini told me that he believes in me very much and that now he will show me how much I'm worth."
"The positive streak of Roma started after the victory with Frosinone, now there is a long way to go and I want to take the field with as much continuity as possible. Di Francesco always tells me that training is the mirror of the game, that if I will be at his disposal I can speak my mind."
"Idols? I have always been inspired by Kaka, I think I'm strong physically even if I have to improve a lot with my weak foot. I hope I can become like Ricardo, for me he has always been an example."
