That interview was the happiest I ever saw Gattuso.
The Italian stallion
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That interview was the happiest I ever saw Gattuso.
No wonder certain people aren't put off.
What an absolute hero.
How he's not first name on the teamsheet (besides Ali), I'm not sure.
Couldn't ask for more in terms of effort and inspiration.
Oh but he is. His name is on the bench before the team is selected
Dare I say, under a different manager, his £10 million plus add-ons signing might well have been viewed as a bargain.
View: https://x.com/NeilMellor33/status/1996635450837291210
View: https://x.com/NeilMellor33/status/1996636014031655143
View: https://x.com/NeilMellor33/status/1996635450837291210
View: https://x.com/NeilMellor33/status/1996636014031655143
Jurgen would have loved his personality, it one of the fundamental differences between him and Arne….one got in the players heads, saw that ‘natural enthusiasm’ and understood what that could offer, the other, well hasn’t a fucking clue.
Happened to come across this stat while looking at Wirtz’s. Of course the figure is skewed by minutes played, but it still highlights his effort (not that it ever needed proving).
He's staying on the bench so that he can come on and make an impact. 😵
View: https://x.com/JamesPearceLFC/status/1996871121984250017
View: https://x.com/davidlynchlfc/status/1996871284387618859
View: https://x.com/JamesPearceLFC/status/1996871121984250017
View: https://x.com/davidlynchlfc/status/1996871284387618859
Slots treatment of Endo, Chiesa and Quansah (when he was here) is abysmal. He's got no sense of maintaining squad morale and competitiveness, which is something Klopp excelled at. All the bench will be counting down the hours until the owners wake up and smell the coffee. The funny thing is most the first team don't seem that arsed if he were booted, either. They certainly don't consistently show it on the pitch.
Makes sense. Chiesa can stay on the bench so he can influence from the bench rather than minute 1, and Rio can stay on the bench so his minutes aren't impacted
When you think of the fight in the mentality monsters, albeit that I thought that label was a bit cheesy. That squad was a level beyond, these guys look lost. No leader.
View: https://x.com/statsports/status/1997003043582140436
View: https://x.com/statsports/status/1997077754861257100
Given Liverpool’s current plight — their title defence is all but finished as they sit 11 points behind leaders Arsenal — those on the bench might feel they deserve more game time. Well, one in particular.
Federico Chiesa's scuffed volley gave Liverpool the lead over Bournemouth on opening day and set the tone for a series of high-impact cameos.
Restricted to just 143 minutes, all as a substitute, the Italian has also scored against Crystal Palace and assisted Cody Gakpo’s goal against Manchester United. On Wednesday night, it was his defensive heroics that stood out, sprinting back in stoppage time to clear Wilson Isidor’s effort off the line and salvage a point for Liverpool in their 1-1 draw. In limited game time, Chiesa has built a strong case for a place in the next starting lineup.
The Year of Chiesa - Why 2026 is shaping up to be massive for the Liverpool star - Football Italia
Ah, Federico Chiesa.
football-italia.net
Ah, Federico Chiesa.
It has been a turbulent five years for the Italian forward: from leaving Fiorentina in a massively hyped move to Juventus, to shining for Italy at the EUROs in 2021, to the injury disappointment that followed and his mixed spell in the Premier League with Liverpool.
However, 2025 has revealed a small, glimmering light at the end of what has been a very dark tunnel for the 28-year-old and next year is shaping up to be decisive for his career.
It is getting close to make or break for the Genoa-born winger and he will need all the stars to align in a potentially huge twelve months for club and country.
Federico Chiesa – How on earth did we get here?
It has been over a year since Chiesa last played for Italy and since his arrival at Liverpool in the summer of 2024, he has made only 29 appearances for the Merseyside club, many of which came off the bench.
Quite the severe fall from grace, for a player who was named in the Team of the Tournament at EURO 2020 as the Azzurri lifted the trophy, beating England in the final at Wembley in London.
Before his move to Liverpool, even in the seasons shortened by his ACL injury, Chiesa had never played less than 14 matches in a domestic league season. Over just three seasons at Fiorentina, the then-starlet played 137 times in Serie A for the Viola. At Juventus, he played a further 98 times over four seasons, despite the unfortunate time spent out.
Last season, as Arne Slot’s Reds lifted the Premier League trophy, Chiesa made just six appearances. He was given the odd game in the Champions League and domestic cups but has not been given much of a chance given the fierce level of competition.
Obviously, Chiesa’s cruciate ligament tear was a major turning point in his career. And it is an injury that it is fair to say he has not truly fully recovered from. He’s failed to reach the heights he reached before the injury and this is even by his own admission.
The forward’s current exclusion from the Italian national team is not as a result of coach Gennaro Gattuso’s intentions, per se. Instead, the coach revealed that it was a joint decision reached on the basis that Chiesa himself does not yet feel ready to return to the set-up.
However, it feels as though the tide is turning slightly in his favour as we approach the new year.
Cold winter months open golden door for Chiesa at Liverpool
Let’s start with his situation at Liverpool, as his selection and availability for Italy will hinge primarily on whether or not he is getting enough minutes in general.
Already this season, Chiesa has featured in four more league matches than he did last campaign; one more appearance in all competitions and we are only at the start of December.
And, so far, the Italian has started to capture the hearts of the Liverpool fans with some really dedicated cameos.
Still being brought off the bench for most of his minutes, one thing is abundantly clear: his work ethic is impressive and he clearly still has fight left in him.
During Liverpool’s midweek draw with Sunderland, where the whole team looked a shadow of the side that lifted the league last season, Chiesa came off the bench to make a vital goal-saving block in the dying moments of the match. He was the only Liverpool player to track back from box-to-box, after Sunderland launched an electric counter-attack thanks to a superb ball from goalkeeper Robin Roefs.
After the match, the Italian received a ton of praise on social media for his performance – and even from head coach Arne Slot, who praised his mentality to contribute to both attack and defence.
It wasn’t the first time Chiesa has come off the bench to impress this season either, scoring an important late goal to put Liverpool up against Bournemouth in the first game of the season – perhaps a portent of what was to come. At the end of September, he scored an equaliser in an eventual 2-1 loss to Crystal Palace and despite a poor month for the club in general, Chiesa was voted as the fans’ Player of the Month for September.
With fans calling for more opportunities for the Italian, and Arne Slot under immense pressure to turn things around after the league champions sit in 9th place, already losing two more games this season than they did in the entire last campaign, there is no reason why Chiesa will not be rewarded with more minutes.
Better yet for the Italian, the Africa Cup of Nations is just around the corner and soon talismanic winger Mohamed Salah will be joining up with his Egypt squad for the tournament. This leaves Slot with a enormous space to fill, even if the Egyptian has failed to recapture the form that propelled the club to the title last season.
Given his impressive cameos so far, it is not a wild assumption to make that Chiesa will receive more minutes in Salah’s absence, and could potentially even start matches in what is expected to be a tough winter run.
And then there’s Italia
Now, as aforementioned, Chiesa’s Italy future is completely up in the air at the minute.
He has confessed to Gattuso that he does not feel ‘ready’ yet… but when will he?
Italy have crucial matches coming up in the Spring to determine their World Cup fate, with a play-off semi-final against Northern Ireland standing in the way of a final match-up against either Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Whether or not Chiesa will feature in these games is a mystery. And whether or not Gattuso will select him is another. If his form continues to pick up for Liverpool and he gets more minutes in his legs, it is hard to imagine Gattuso will choose not to select him. Normally, it is difficult to reintegrate into an international group but seeing as we are still in the fledgling days of the Gattuso era, the dust is yet to settle and there are many selection debates to be had.
This is Chiesa’s way into the squad and he must not squander it once he is there. If he can earn a call-up for the play-offs, and contribute positively to Italy’s attempt to qualify for the World Cup, then we could see him playing in North America next summer.
Italy’s qualification for the tournament is a whole other topic for debate but the Azzurri have the quality to qualify and Chiesa could prove instrumental to this.
Whatever happens over the next 12 months, this time next year we will have a much clearer picture of where Chiesa is at – and you can’t help but root for him to make the most of his opportunity.
FREE THE CHEEZY
