In football there are cases of all kinds, but the Cristiano Volpato, it is at least particular. The Australian-born striker is just 18 years old, but he is already starting to show the best version of him in the first team of Roma, where, arm in arm with José Mourinho He has already seen minutes in six games. He played for a few minutes, but he has already shown that he has many conditions, and in Australia they have put the spotlight on him.
‘Calcio’ are already thinking about what will be their sixth World Cup. In the past few hours Graham Arnold has announced the 26 players who will represent Australia in Qatar, and although Cristian Volpato does not say that he is on the list, what is striking is the reason for his absence. Apparently the young Roma would have been summoned, but in the end he will not go to Arab land by his own decision.
This determination has left his own and others in check. Is that with only 18 years and a more than promising career ahead, Volpato refuses the possibility of representing his country in a World Cup. The reasons, it is explained through his networks: “I have seen a lot of speculation about decisions that I would presumably make internationally: the truth is that I am still at the beginning of my professional career and I am totally focused on continuing that process in Rome” .
“Making any kind of hasty decision about my international future at this early stage risks being extremely premature. There will be plenty of time for me to make the decision that feels right to me, but right now I know my goal must be to keep working hard every day to keep improving as a player. For now it’s time to focus on the match against Sassuolo. “
And these speculations Volpato talks about have to do with the words of the Australian DT, who had provided some details regarding the attacker’s call: “Until 11pm last night I was trying to convince him to join the team, I said he who was among the 26 called up for the World Cup. He replied that he wanted to think and talk with people close to him to understand what was best for his career. He then decided to decline my offer “.
“It was his decision, now I prefer to focus on the guys we have and the young people who are about to arrive. Cristian didn’t want to make such a big decision and that’s okay.”, gathered Graham Arnold, who will finally have to make it in Qatar without the figure of Volpato. It should be noted that this is not the first time the attacker has been attempted by Australia. Although he grew up playing for Sydney FC in his country, Volpato has always chosen to represent the colors of Italy.
The youngster has dual nationality, so he can represent both teams. Since he received the first call-up, he chose to play in ‘Azzurra’, both in the Under 19 and Under 20 categories, so Australia always ran from behind. Today he is not in Roberto Mancini’s plans, but Volpato dreams of an opportunity in the Italian national team, and that is why he chooses to decline the Australian offer.
Finally, the place of the Camperdown native on the roster will be taken by Garang Kuol, a striker born in Egypt in 2004 who represents Australia’s Central Coast Mariners. The 18-year-old striker is one step away from joining Newcastle in the Premier League and, apparently, before his arrival in England, he will see minutes in the World Cup, in a Group D which will be made up of France, Tunisia, Denmark and of course. , Australia.
Volpato and a promising start in Serie A
The Australian forward has been trained in the lower categories of the most important teams in the capital of his country. He began his career at Sydney United 58, then moved to Sidney FC and eventually found a place in the Western Sydney Wanderers youth academy. With the ‘Wanderers’ shirt, he played an Under 17 tournament in Malaysia, where he distinguished himself and caught the attention of Roma, who immediately made him an offer.
There were different approaches, but the ‘Lupi’ offer convinced all parties and Cristian Volpato continued his career on Italian soil. After a few months in the Roma youth teams, on December 4, 2021, the opportunity to make his debut in the first team arrived. It was against Inter, and the match ended with a victory for the Nerazzurri, but the result was the least.
Since that time, ydand the hand of a José Mourinho who adopted him as a protege, Volpato has had the opportunity to show himself in many other meetings. He has returned to see the minutes in Serie A twice, and also scored for the first time in Roma’s 2-2 against Hellas Verona, in February of this year. Later, he barely saw action in three Europa League games, even though he made several calls.
Since his breakout into Italian football, Volpato has not only become one of the DT’s favorites, but has also made room for Francesco Totti, founder of his representative agency. In fact, just a few months ago, Volpato visited the offices of the CT10 management agency, where he got to know the greatest idol of Rome. On his 18th birthday, Totti signed him a shirt with the following dedication: “For Cristian, future champion”.
Source: Clarin
