Translated by

Italy, Locatelli: "Our struggles have brought us together; Gattuso is our leader"

The midfielder speaks after the victory against Northern Ireland

Manuel Locatelli, midfielder for the Italian national team and Juventus, spoke to Rai reporters after the Azzurri’s 2-0 victory over Northern Ireland: “The hardships of recent years have brought us closer together; we’re a team that fights for Gattuso. He’s our leader.”

Locatelli continued: "Now we have to go and play a great final – no excuses. Was I too deep in the first half? I thought I could contribute more in that position, but at half-time Gattuso told me to push forward a few metres and things went better." Locatelli spoke of an Italy side that "was frantic at the start; we wanted to break the deadlock. We also made technical errors, but we always stayed compact and showed patience to strike at the right moment."

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