Who is Mateo Retegui, the native footballer who leads Italy’s attack tonight

Who is Mateo Retegui, the native footballer who leads the attack of Italy

Who is Mateo Retegui, the footballer who will lead Italy’s attack in the match against England, the first match valid for qualifying for the 2024 European Championships, scheduled for this evening, Thursday 23 March 2023 at the Maradona stadium in Naples?

Mateo Retegui is a striker, quick and physically strong, born in San Fernando, Argentina, on April 29, 1999. The footballer has Italian citizenship, which is why it was possible to call him up to the national team, since his maternal grandfather was originally from Canicattì , in the province of Agrigento.

Son of Carlos Retegui, a former field hockey player and now coach, and Maria Grandoli, also a hockey champion, Mateo grew up in the Boca Juniors youth team. On 17 November 2018, he made his first team debut, coming on for Carlos Tévez in the last minutes of the match between Boca and Patronato.

The following year he was loaned to Estudiantes, while in 2020 he moved, again on loan, to Talleres.

Since 2022 he has been playing at Tigre, always on loan from Boca Juniors, with which he shows off. Mateo Retegui has scored 25 goals in 35 appearances so far.

“The boy has been playing as a starter for two years in Argentina and has qualities that we lacked, we had been following him for some time, but we thought he didn’t want to come, instead he said yes immediately” Italy coach Roberto Mancini had recently declared, motivating his National call-up.

“He’s a classic center forward, many compare him to Denis, I don’t want to say an exaggerated thing but he reminds me of Batistuta when he arrived in Italy” Mancini always said to the vigil of the match against England, the first game without the late Gianluca Vialli.

Private life

Mateo Retegui has a sister, Micaela, who has chosen to follow in their parents’ footsteps by pursuing a career as a field hockey player. Nicknamed El Chapitoin honor of his father who when he played hockey was known by the nickname of Chapathe Italy striker has a profile Instagram followed by over 150 thousand followers.