Barella Nicolò
Nicolò Barella is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for the Italy national team. Born in Cagliari, Barella is a youth exponent from Cagliari Calcio. He made his Serie A debut on 4 May 2015 against Parma, replacing Diego Farias after 68 minutes in a 4–0 home win. In January 2016, he was sent on loan to Como in Serie B, where he played as a first choice for the second part of the season. On 17 September 2017, he scored his first professional and Serie A goal against SPAL in a 2–0 home win. Barella is considered a promising and highly talented young midfielder in the European sports media. He was named the best young Italian player born in 1997 for two consecutive years between 2012 and 2013.
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This shirt was worn by Nicolò Barella during the Euro round of 16’s game between Italy and Austria which took place in London, “Wembley Stadium” on June 26th 2021. Italy needed extra time to defeat Austria 2-1, surpassing its own 30-game unbeaten run set in 1939 and qualify for the quarterfinals of the tournament. The deadlock was broken in the 95th minute when substitute Federico Chiesa struck a beautiful left-footed strike into the bottom left corner before substitute Matteo Pessina found the other corner in the 105th minute to stretch the Azzurri’s lead. This victory also meant Italy has won its last 12th consecutive match. It was also Italy’s 31st game in a row without defeat, surpassing the record of 30 set by the team between 1935 and 1939 under Vittorio Pozzo. Italy advanced to the quarterfinal where it faced the winner of No. 1 ranked Belgium.The shirt was signed by barella and given after the game to a Charity organization whom we got it from.
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Italian football journalist Mina Rzouki described him as an intelligent, promising, and composed midfielder, despite his young age, with a wide range of skills. She also commented that Barella “…can dribble through a defence, score volleys and start counter-attacks. He knows how to find the right passes and is box-to-box. Most importantly he can win back possession quickly and recover the ball.” Barella’s performances have also been praised by Italian former footballers Andrea Pirlo and Alessandro Del Piero. The Italian sports newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport has compared him to Steven Gerrard, describing him as a dynamic player with good technique, vision, stamina, and physical strength, despite his relatively short stature, as well as an ability to win balls, which enables him to break down possession and subsequently start quick attacking plays. A versatile player, he is capable of playing anywhere in midfield, and has even been used as an attacking midfielder or as a defensive midfielder, but his favoured role is as a right-sided, offensive-minded central midfielder, known as a “mezzala” in Italy. Known for his eye for goal, he possesses a good shot from outside the area, and is known for his ability to make late attacking runs from behind into the penalty area. He is also an accurate set piece and penalty taker. He is known for his strong character, leadership qualities, competitive spirit, and winning mentality, but has also drawn criticism at times in the press for protesting or arguing excessively with officials during matches. His Italy teammate Jorginho has likened him to N’Golo Kanté.
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This set has been worn by Nicolò Barella during the “Finalissima 2022”. The “Finalissima 2022” was the third edition of the CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions, an intercontinental football match between the winners of the previous South American and European championships. The match featured Italy, winners of UEFA Euro 2020 (held in 2021), and Argentina, winners of the 2021 Copa América. It was played at Wembley Stadium in London, England, on 1 June 2022. The match, a revival of the Artemio Franchi Cup last played 29 years prior, was organised by UEFA and CONMEBOL as part of a renewed partnership between the two confederations. Argentina won the match 3–0 for their second CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions title. In 1985 and 1993, the winners of the prior UEFA European Championship and Copa América tournaments played in the Artemio Franchi Cup (also known as the European/South American Nations Cup), a one-off match organised by UEFA and CONMEBOL. It was the national team equivalent to the Intercontinental Cup on the club level, played between the winners of the European Cup/UEFA Champions League and Copa Libertadores. France won the 1985 edition in Paris, while Argentina won the 1993 match in Mar del Plata. However, the competition was discontinued thereafter. The Artemio Franchi Cup can be considered a precursor of the King Fahd Cup/FIFA Confederations Cup, played in 1992 for the first time and organised by FIFA from 1997, which featured the title holders of the continental championships and FIFA World Cup. After the 2017 edition, FIFA announced on 15 March 2019 that the tournament would be abolished. On 12 February 2020, UEFA and CONMEBOL signed a renewed memorandum of understanding meant to enhance cooperation between the two organisations. As part of the agreement, a joint UEFA–CONMEBOL committee examined the possibility of staging European–South American intercontinental matches, for both men’s and women’s football and across various age groups. On 28 September 2021, UEFA and CONMEBOL confirmed that the UEFA European Championship and Copa América winners would face each other in an intercontinental match, with the agreement initially covering three editions starting in 2022. The first edition was confirmed to take place during the June 2022 international window at a venue to be confirmed. On 15 December 2021, UEFA and CONMEBOL again signed a renewed memorandum of understanding lasting until 2028, which included specific provisions on opening a joint office in London and the potential organisation of various football events. The match was confirmed to take place in London on 1 June 2022, with the venue yet to be decided. On 22 March 2022, UEFA announced the match would take place at Wembley Stadium. At the same time, the brand identity was revealed, and UEFA announced that the “CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions” was the new name for the Artemio Franchi Cup.
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This shirt has been worn by Nicolò Barella during the International friendly game between Austria and Italy which took place in Leopoldstadt, “Ernst-Happel-Stadion”, on November 20th 2022. Austria defeated Italy 2-0. This is a very rare shirt because it was used by the team in this game only, which was also the last game of 2022 before Italy team changed its technical supplier from January 2023, moving from Puma to Adidas). So this was the only game played with this style of shirt.
