Napoli full-back Giovanni Di Lorenzo admits he was surprised when he found out he had been called up the Italy national team.
The 26-year-old has impressed for the Partenopei since joining from Empoli in the summer, and his appearances have caught the eye of Roberto Mancini after he was named to the Azzurri side for matches against Greece and Liechtenstein.
Di Lorenzo revealed being named to the side was more exciting because he wasn’t expecting it at all.
“I was at home on the couch with my girlfriend when the call came,” he told the official FIGC website. “It was a great feeling because I didn’t expect it. I hope to repay [Roberto Mancini’s] faith.
“The first time I celebrated for the national team? That came in 2006 in the World Cup. I was with my friends and we watched all the games together. It was really great.”
Although Di Lorenzo has made a name for himself as a full-back, the Tuscan native revealed he was likened to Fiorentina legend Gabriel Batistuta as he was a striker as a youth.
“There was a [director] for the team my brother played for that was a huge Fiorentina fan,” he added.
“I was a striker and scored lots of goals, so he called me Batigol.”
Source: forzaitalianfootball.com