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Pio Esposito ItalyGetty Images
Gianluca Minchiotti
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Vieri: “Pio Esposito more like Toni than me, he will beat Gigi Riva’s goals record”

F. Esposito
Italy
C. Vieri

The former Italy striker talks about his young heir in the Azzurri

Christian Vieri, the former Italy national team striker, spoke to the Gazzetta dello Sport about the Azzurri, with particular focus on Pio Esposito.


ON PIO ESPOSITO

"At 21, he has already scored seven goals in that Azzurri shirt, which carries so much weight, which means that in seven or eight years he will break Gigi Riva's record. And he will be the striker who has scored the most goals in the history of the Italy national team. But it also means that in two or three years he too will start scoring his 20 goals a season".


ON THE COMPARISON MADE BY MANCINI: ESPOSITO LIKE VIERI AND TONI

"Pio is more like Toni, in my opinion. But comparisons make no sense to me, you know that. And they do him no good either".


  • On the national team and Mancini

    "Did I like it? Yes, very much. But I never had any doubts about Mancini. I couldn't care less about saying whether he got it wrong, and by how much: he had already said everything himself, hadn't he? I was sure of two things, which I like very much: he changes teams and gives young players a chance. And giving young players confidence, believing in them, persevering with them, is very important for our football. Because few do it and his example matters."

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