Frosinone midfielder Giacomo Calò spoke about being left out of Italy’s squad and said his performances could earn him a future call-up: “No, on the contrary, who cares if I’m 30? If I keep this up, I think I’ll deserve it. I let the pitch do the talking. Your performances tell you what you can become. I’m ambitious and I’m aiming high.”
Italy’s squad choices
Roberto Mancini selected teenagers Riccardo Cassano and Simone Lontani for the first time.
Calò on his age
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, via TuttoMercatoWeb, the midfielder spoke for the first time since being left out of the squad for Nations League games against France and Belgium. Calò said: “I don’t care much about the controversy, and I’d rather not fuel it. I know I’ll turn 30 in February and that carries weight. So far, the call-ups have always rewarded younger players.”
Frosinone and his career
Calò has spent most of his career in Serie B and Serie C, but he has five goals in his first top-flight campaign.
Calò said: “Who’d have expected me to score five goals in Serie A and then be linked with the national team? Sometimes it still feels like I’m dreaming. In recent years I’ve always played between Serie B and Serie C, and I was a bit afraid of getting stuck in the lower leagues. I got out of there thanks to a positive environment like the one at Frosinone.”
He added: “For now, Frosinone are my national team, and everything else comes later.”
The agent’s criticism
Calò’s agent, Vincenzo Pisacane, had criticised Mancini and warned that the decision risked being “the death of meritocracy”. Calò said: “I also think there’s been a bit of a lack of meritocracy towards me over the years. Today I’m a different player: more mature and ready.”
