Football

Udinese's Lorenzo Lucca opens up on getting first Italy opportunity: 'I started from the bottom to get here'

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1m ago

Oct 19, 2024 / 5214 Views

Evan Walker

After a disappointing UEFA Euro 2024 campaign, there is some new hope for the Italian national team. Luciano Spalletti's side have won three out of four games in the UEFA Nations League over the last two international breaks of the new season, thanks, in part, to a new generation of talents that is fast becoming the new core this cycle under the former Napoli head coach. Among the new talents, there is one who made his Azzurri debut against Israel on October 14: Lorenzo Lucca.

The 24-year-old Lucca is currently having a strong start to the season with Udinese, where he's already scored three goals in seven Serie A games, and two goals in two Coppa Italia matches. The Italian striker made his name at Pisa in the Italian second division during the 2021-22 season and attracted the interest of Ajax, where he played during the 2022-23 season. After his Dutch experience, he came back to Italian soccer and joined Udinese in the summer 2023. During his first season at the club, he scored eight goals and played 37 Serie A games.

Udinese have had a positive start of the season, as the Bianconeri are sitting fifth in the table with 13 points after seven games and thanks to his goals Lucca got the call to the Italian national team from Spalletti. The Italian striker sat down with CBS Sports for an exclusive interview, revealing he thinks this is just the beginning for him.

"It was definitely the dream of my life, I'm very proud of it. I found it out around 11:30 PM on that Sunday night before International break, when the team manager called me, he told me I would be called up to replace Moise Kean, who was injured. Spalletti decided to call me, even though I was hoping to be called up earlier, but then I was very happy because it's an important step for my career. I had already spoken to Spalletti in March, this time he just asked me how I was."

Playing with the national team was a big step for Lucca, as he was able to play and share the room with some of the most important players around Italy and beyond. "Federico Dimarco from Inter impressed me a lot, Sandro Tonali as well... they are all strong. Dimarco really impressed me though, a player who can be useful to me for his assists, with his technique and his left foot."

Lucca, as mentioned, is part of a new generation of talents that has to drive the Azzurri in the coming years, starting from the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, as the Italian national team failed to qualify for the last two editions of the most important soccer tournament. "I only think about working as I am doing," he said. "I am trying to give my best starting from training with Udinese, step by step we are building something that could be more important. I started from the bottom to get here, but this is a starting point not for me. I'm playing in Serie A, I made my debut in the national team, but to stay at a certain level you have to do it for many years."

The 24-year-old had the chance to make his Azzurri debut at his home stadium in Udine against Israel. "It was beautiful. The Udinese fans have always supported me, even when I had bad performances. They were singing my name and asking Spalletti to play me. At this moment, I still haven't realized what happened, I expected and wanted this moment, but I don't want to dwell on this. Not many have played in the national team, but it's only the first step, it's not a point of arrival."

Udinese had a strong start of the season, as they are currently fifth in the table with 13 points after seven Games. The Italian side, after a disappointing 2023-24 spell where they avoided the relegation in the last Game against Frosinone, started well under new manager Kosta Runjaic. A surprising appointment, as the German manager made his Serie A debut with Udinese this season and was unknown for many. "He made himself understood immediately by the team, which is fundamental. We were coming off a negative season, he understood and made himself available to the team, and we did the same. After avoiding relegation in the last match of the season, he immediately started talking to those who had more experience and now we have more self confidence. He has integrated very well and for this reason he is showing his skills, also thanks to the team."

Lucca says he improved compared to the past season for "how I attack the box. I manage certain situations better when I have to help the team. I think my way of playing has changed, it's my second season in the Italian Serie A, I have more confidence after scoring the first goals last year. This season, I could have done more, I made some mistakes even if that can happen along the way. I work to score goals, I'm happy with how I started, but deep down I know I could have done better."

The Ajax experience wasn't easy for him. He scored two goals for the first team and also made 16 appearances including his Europa League debut, and helped him to grow off the pitch in particular. "I was living alone and far away from my family. Amsterdam is a beautiful city, but they speak a difficult language like Dutch even if in the team they only speak English. Also, the weather didn't help."

Finally, going back to the national team, the 2026 World Cup that will take place in the United States is definitely a goal for Lucca, but he tries to not think about it too much, he says: "It's not a short-term goal. In my career I think about things step by step, there is too much time left. Obviously I would like to be there...".