Scamacca put away the PlayStation and started scoring. Now it could be game time as Italy’s striker

ROME – The message from Italy coach Luciano Spalletti was clear: put away the PlayStation and start focusing more on scoring goals.

The results were surprising for Gianluca Scamacca, who has scored nine goals in 11 appearances for Atalanta since Spalletti removed him from the Azzurri squad in March due to his obsession with video games.

“If someone wants to waste time, that’s their choice. But then don’t come to my national team,” said Spalletti, noting how several players stayed up all night before the decisive European Championship qualifier against Ukraine in November. The Azzurri drew 0-0 – just enough to qualify.

“It would have been the same if they were watching a TV series. It’s an addiction and it’s not good for sleeping, doctors say,” added Spalletti.

Now Scamacca is ready to fill Italy’s void at striker just in time for Euro 2024 in Germany.

Ciro Immobile has been Italy’s central striker for years, but he has never performed as well for the national team as he did for Lazio and, at 34, is likely to have his best years behind him.

The crisis at center forward became so serious that former Italian coach Roberto Mancini recruited Argentine striker Mateo Retegui to join the Azzurri. And Retegui performed admirably with four goals in six matches.

Scamacca scored just one goal – scored against England – in 15 appearances for Italy. But in the last two months he has become a new player, finally realizing the potential that had been hanging over him since coming through the youth ranks at Lazio and Roma.

He is a physically and technically complete player, capable of delivering powerful shots at the goal while standing on both feet or performing jumps and acrobatic efforts.

His talent was on full display recently with two goals in Atalanta’s 3-0 victory over Liverpool in the Europa League quarter-finals, a goal and an assist to help overcome the deficit suffered in the first leg against Fiorentina in the Europa League semi-finals. Italian Cup, and the opening goal in the 1-1 draw with Marseille, on Thursday, in the first leg of the Europa League semi-finals.

“He was exceptional against us – very, very good. It was difficult to play against him,” said Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. “He was great in the air and great on the ground. I didn’t know him very well when he came to West Ham. It didn’t work 100% there, but it could happen because the Premier League is a difficult league to play in. You can see that it has great quality.

“But for a specific way of playing, I think he is a fantastic option. A very focused player, who can knock the ball down and give it time to go up. He is a threat in the area. It’s a really interesting package,” Klopp added.

Italy have not had a true centre-forward since perhaps the days of Christian Vieri, Luca Toni and Alberto Gilardino.

Therefore, if Scamacca can produce from 9th position, he will be a reference point for attackers like Federico Chiesa, Giacomo Raspadori and Nicolò Zaniolo.

Atalanta is a team that often relies on developing local talent or buying young foreign players with hidden potential on the cheap. But the Bergamo team spent 25 million euros ($27 million) to bring Scamacca from West Ham back to Italy, where he scored just three goals in 16 Premier League matches and had his season cut short by a knee injury.

But Scamacca excelled with West Ham in the Europa Conference League and now has six goals in this season’s Europa League – demonstrating an affinity for the continental game – which could also bode well for the Euros, where Italy are in the group with Spain, Croatia and Albania.

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