Which shows just how much attention Gattuso paid to his players between the Azzurri’s last game in November and Thursday’s World Cup playoff with Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n
With the four-time champion attempting to avoid missing out on a third-straight World Cup, Gattuso traveled up and down Italy and made several trips abroad to share dinners with his players and keep up team spirit.<\/p>\n
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“Over the last few months I heard from him more than my mother,” Calafiori said Tuesday at Italy’s Coverciano training complex in Florence.<\/p>\n
“When I was out or not playing as much, he called me constantly,” Calafiori said of the month from late December to late January when he was out with a muscle injury. “And the dinner with him was great. It gave us the chance to be together. It was like a dinner among friends.”<\/p>\n
Besides Gattuso, Italy delegation chief Gianluigi Buffon and assistant coach Leonardo Bonucci — all former standout players for Italy — were also at the meal in London.<\/p>\n
“There were a lot of soccer anecdotes shared, because the three of them have plenty of those,” Calafiori said.<\/p>\n
Able to switch seamlessly between left- and center-back, the 23-year-old Calafiori helped Bologna<\/a> qualify for the Champions League before transferring to Arsenal in 2024.<\/p>\n Now he’s switching his attention to limiting Northern Ireland’s dead ball opportunities, after recovering from a slight knock with Arsenal on Sunday.<\/p>\n “We need to be aware, because they’re dangerous. Free kicks can create the difference. The margins between squads are reduced in modern football,” Calafiori said. “We also need to pay attention to loose balls.”<\/p>\n Having become a regular with Italy, Calafiori is still regaining his fitness from his month off after beginning the season as a consistent member of Arsenal’s starting 11.<\/p>\n He’s not a guaranteed starter at Arsenal these days, though, with Piero Hincapi\u00e9<\/a> doing well in Calafiori’s absence and keeping his place now that the Italian is back.<\/p>\n While Arsenal was beaten by Manchester City<\/a> in the English League Cup final on Sunday, Calafiori is still in line to win the Premier League<\/a> with Arsenal leading City by nine points.<\/p>\n But Calafiori has other goals, too.<\/p>\n “Going to the World Cup is the dream I had as a kid, so I can’t wait to play this game,” he said.<\/p>\nArsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori is part of the Italy squad for their UEFA World Cup playoff game against Northern Ireland.\u00a0Getty Images<\/p>\n