Until the last minute of finalizing the squad for Germany, Mattia Zaccagni was still not sure if his name was in the list of 26 Italian players for EURO 2024. In the end, coach Luciano Spalletti chose him and that was lucky for the Azzurri.
in the most dramatic way. They scored in the final minute of injury time in the final group stage match. Italy’s hero is the substitute, Mattia Zaccagni. The midfielder, born in 1995, has an impeccable heart that makes Italian fans crazy.
And after the match, many people were curious to know who Zaccagni was. In fact, this player played very impressively in Serie A 2023/24 for Lazio but is not widely known outside of Italy.
EURO 2024 is the first major tournament of Zaccagni’s career. He made his first appearance for the Azzurri in 2022 in a friendly match against Türkiye and up to now has only made 7 appearances for the national team. The goal against Croatia was also the first goal that this player scored for the blue shirt team.
Zaccagni was born on June 16, 1995. He trained at Bellaria Igea and then Hellas Verona. In September 2014, he made his professional debut for Venezia, a club that was then playing in Serie C.
He made his Serie A debut for Verona on 23 September 2015, replacing Jacopo Sala in the 75th minute of a 0–1 loss to Inter Milan.
Zaccagni is a mainstay of Hellas Verona with 137 appearances in Serie A and scoring 14 goals. In 2021, Zaccagni’s extremely skillful chest block and then hooking the ball in Verona’s 1-0 victory over Spezia helped him win the award for Best Goal of the 2020/21 season.
On 31 August 2021, Zaccagni completed his move from Hellas Verona to Lazio on loan with an option to buy. And after just 1 year, Lazio activated this clause.
The decision to play for Lazio really turned Zaccagni’s career around. After 3 seasons playing for the Olimpico Stadium team, the winger born in 1995 had 92 appearances and scored 20 goals (Serie A alone).
In the 2023/24 season, Zacagni appeared in 36 matches in all competitions for Lazio, scoring 7 goals and contributing 2 assists. That impressive performance helped him catch the eye of coach Luciano Spalletti.
In fact, Zacagni’s journey to participate in EURO 2024 is not easy. Until the last minute, he still wasn’t sure whether he was on the list of 26 people to go to Germany or not. In the end, coach Luciano Spalletti chose him and it was a completely wise decision.
In the match against Croatia, Zaccagni was brought on to replace Matteo Darmian in the 81st minute. And he became the hero who helped Italy squeeze through the narrow door to officially win a ticket to the round of 16.
After the match, La Gazzetta dello Sport had to give special praise to Zaccagni’s goal: “Mattia Zaccagni’s last-second magic; we went through a crazy match when we were just away from the abyss.” of 3rd place by exactly 1 second. Zaccagni saved us, one of Spalletti’s desperate moves”.
Speaking after the match, Zaccagni said: “I was really emotional and happy to help Italy qualify for the knockout stage in second place. I didn’t think it was the last shot of the match. Before the ball came to me, Calafiori did very well. I didn’t think much. I visualized what I had to do. That image appeared in my head many times. I was going to curl the ball into the far corner and I did it.”
“My idol is Del Piero. I have hung a picture of him in my bedroom since I was very young. I had the opportunity to meet him before leaving for Germany. Hopefully he will comment on the goal This is mine”.
After his memorable goal against Croatia, perhaps Zaccagni not only received praise from Del Piero but also from all Italian football fans. Having never played for Italy’s youth team, spending nearly 10 years of his career playing for weak average teams and only playing for the Azzurri for 2 years, Zacagni suddenly became a star after just one match.
About Mattia Zaccagni
Date of birth: June 16, 1995
Height: 1m76
Dominant foot: right foot
Position: left winger/forward, central midfielder
Clubs played for during career:
Bellaria Igea (2012-2014)
Hellas Verona (2013-2014, loan)
Hellas Verona (2014-2022)
Venice (2014-2015, loan)
Citadella (2015-2016, loan)
Lazio (2021-2022, loan)
Lazio (2022-nay)
National Team: Italy (2022-present)