Zaccagni Reveals He Was Inspired by Juventus Icon: “I Always Studied His Goals” | OneFootball

Mattia Zaccagni is enjoying one of his most successful seasons in Serie A, having already tallied nine goals and eight assists out of 30 caps with Lazio. The now Biancocelesti captain was also one of the few positive notes in the Azzurri‘s disastrous campaign at Euro 2024. His late stunner against Croatia spared Italy the blushes of an early elimination and set the Cesena-born winger as a potential cornerstone of the Italian Nazionale.

Indeed, Zaccagni has had some good masters to look up to. In an interview with TLN TV (via The Laziali), he discussed how Juventus legendary striker Alessandro Del Piero used to be his childhood hero and how he always studied the Bianconeri stalwart’s goals and performances to improve.

“Yes, Alessandro Del Piero has always been my idol from when I was little. I always studied his shot, his goals, and performances,” Zaccagni said as The Laziali founder Steven Moore interviewed him. Now that he has broken through Serie A, Zaccagni seems to also have built a very good relationship with the unforgettable Pinturicchio.

“Alex messaged me after the game against Monza,” he went on, hinting at Lazio’s recent 5-1 routing of the Brianzoli where he played a key role. “We have spoken often, also after the goal I scored at Euro 2024, so we have a good relationship.”

This is Zaccagni’s fourth season at Lazio. The Biancocelesti went through a managerial change last summer as Marco Baroni replaced caretaker Igor Tudor at the helm after Maurizio Sarri’s resignation. Zaccagni shared how working with Baroni helped him and the club strenghten their mentality:

“In today’s football, you work a lot on the mental aspects […] and the coach works a lot on this. [He also works] on all the technical aspects on the pitch, but he is really good at working on our mentality.”

Lazio currently sit fourth in the league table and are well in contention for a Champions League spot next season. They also qualified for the Europa League Round of 16, and are due to meet Inter in the Coppa Italia Quarter Finals next Tuesday.