"I have lived in Azerbaijan for six years and I love this country very much. That is why I am eagerly looking forward to the day I will join the team here."
Medianews.az reports that these words were said by Lorenzo Mezzotero, a football player of Italy's "Sampdoria" team who has been called up to Azerbaijan's U-21 national team, in an interview with AZƏRTAC.
The young forward stated that his main goal is to constantly improve:
"Currently, I am focusing all my attention on getting better every day. I want to work hard, enjoy the game, contribute to the team's victories, and score goals. The rest of the successes will come step by step."
The player emphasized the special importance of playing for the Azerbaijan national team for him:
"Wearing this team's jersey is a great honor."
The footballer also stressed that he has not received any offer from the Italy national team.
For information, Lorenzo Mezzotero is a graduate of the "Neftçi" Football Academy.
It should be noted that the U-21 national team will have a training camp in Baku from May 28 to 30, and then in the city of Isparta in Turkey from May 31 to June 10. During the preparations in Turkey, the team will play two friendly matches against the respective age-group teams of Bahrain on June 6 and Kyrgyzstan on June 9. Both matches, held at the "Sav" stadium, are scheduled to start at 18:00 Baku time.