Paloschi prepared to provide 'valuable' experience
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
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"We must be ready when it is our time," said Italy forward Alberto Paloschi who hopes his experience from the 2009 edition will be valuable when he lines up against Norway.
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Alberto Paloschi is the only surviving member of the 2009 Italy squad that lost out to Germany in the semi-finals and is hoping his experience will prove valuable when handed a first start against Norway in the final Group A game.
Paloschi first burst onto the scene in 2008 when he scored the winning goal as an 18-year-old for AC Milan against AC Siena. By his own admission he has not made the giant strides that were expected of him when he was compared to a young Filippo Inzaghi, but he is confident he can still play a part as Italy seek a record sixth title.
"There are 23 of us in the squad and everybody would like to play but we are professional and we accept the choices of the coach," said Paloschi, who played 11 minutes of the 2009 semi-final defeat in Helsingborg. "We must be ready when it is our time. In a European game if you play 20 minutes or all the games you can still be valuable in some way. We want to go all the way and we are training very hard."
The 23-year-old is yet to feature in Israel but was singled out for special praise by Mangia for his attitude in training and will continue to give his all for the squad. "I have no regrets, I always work hard," he added. "I try to always give the maximum in training and it will pay dividends. We are here to win and to achieve important goals. We want to play in the final and take a picture together after the game. We have been to Jerusalem, and also seen other parts of Israel but we are here to play and win."
The comparison to Milan's famed poacher Inzaghi sprung from what he said of Paloschi two years ago: "I see in Alberto Paloschi the Inzaghi of the future. He's young and he has the right mind. Also he is humble." However, the forward who spent last season on loan at AC Chievo Verona has played down the link and is solely focused on making the step up to senior international level. "Inzaghi is an idol for me, but not everyone has his career," he said. "Every player here has quality and playing for senior national team is my dream. Everybody dreams of it."
