Paris Saint-Germain head coach Thomas Tuchel hailed extraordinary midfielder Marco Verratti after he wore the captain s armband for Italy during the international break.
PSG star Verratti captained Italy for the first time as the Azzurri routed Liechtenstein 5-0 in Euro 2020 qualifying on Tuesday.
Tuchel was full of praise for Verratti – who joined the French champions from Pescara in 2012 – ahead of Friday s Ligue 1 clash away to Nice.
He deserved it [to captain Italy], Tuchel told reporters. He s a leader. Everybody can be a leader but not the way he does. The difference is in the little things.
The five players I ve been talking about [Marco Verratti, Thiago Silva, Marquinhos, Edinson Cavani, Kylian Mbappe] are the leaders of our locker room and he does it in his own way with his spirit.
He s always at 100 per cent and concerned about everybody s happiness. He shows great empathy. He can be a leader regarding that kind of things. On the pitch he has the skills.
He plays fast and simple. He s amazing. He s an extraordinary player. We re very happy he s here with us.
The Parisians to face tomorrow evening
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English)
Mbappe and Cavani are in the squad for PSG s trip to Nice, while world-record signing Neymar is absent due to a hamstring injury.
It is a boost for Tuchel, who could hand a start to PSG forward Mauro Icardi – who is on an initial loan deal from Inter.
We can start to think about it [Cavani playing alongside Icardi] but it s different for Mauro, Tuchel said. He hasn t reached 100 per cent yet but he has played with us in a few games.
He showed that he could play in spite of some pain. He can play for us, he has defended and put intensity. He s very tactically disciplined. Now, he did two weeks with us, he wasn t with the Argentina team. It was good because he was able to be with us, we were able to work in terms of volume and intensity.
It s difficult for him. We cannot make a full preparation for a single player now. It is not possible. He may have to play [Friday]. We cannot get him ready during two, three weeks, just for him, we cannot do that. It is a juggling exercise. Mauro can start without any doubt, he hasn t felt any pain for two weeks, he s ready I think.
