Calò’s agent slams Mancini after Italy snub: ‘I hope meritocracy isn’t dead’

Giacomo Calò’s agent has criticised Roberto Mancini for leaving the Frosinone midfielder out of the Italy squad for the Nations League games against France and Belgium. He warned that the decision risks being “the death of meritocracy”.

According to Vincenzo Pisacane, via TuttoMercatoWeb, who represents the 29-year-old, Calò’s numbers make him the best midfielder in Italy right now, and he can’t understand why the Frosinone playmaker was overlooked.

Mancini named a 31-man squad on Thursday for the games against France at San Siro on 12 November and Belgium in Brussels three days later. He picked ten midfielders, including first call-ups for teenagers Riccardo Cassano of Como and Simone Lontani of Parma, but Calò was not among them.

Calò has been one of the surprises of the season. He spent most of his career in Serie B and Serie C, and in his first top-flight campaign the regista has five league goals, including goals in four games in a row. No player in the division has created more chances. Frosinone, promoted last season thanks largely to his 10 goals and 15 assists, sit sixth in the table, ahead of Juventus and Napoli.

“It was strange not to see him in Roberto Mancini’s squad. I know Mancini, and I know he takes these things into account,” Pisacane told TuttoMercatoWeb. “If he were 34 or 35, I could have understood it, but he’s 29. On numbers, he’s currently the best midfielder in Italy.

“The players Mancini called up are all very strong, but I don’t think any of them have Calò’s numbers at the moment. That’s why it would have been right to call him up. I hope yesterday’s omission isn’t the death of meritocracy and that Giacomo can be called up later if he keeps this up. Otherwise, it means there’s no logic to the national team call-ups.”

Calò’s form could have taken him away from Frosinone in the summer, but Pisacane revealed that both the player and the club rejected an approach from Sampdoria.

“There was very strong interest from Sampdoria at one point, but Calò always wanted to stay, and the club itself stood in the way and tied him down,” he said.

“I can say that a lot of Serie A clubs I had called before have got back in touch to tell me, ‘What a mistake I made not listening to you.’ That’s already important. There will be time to talk about the market and the future, but right now Giacomo is 100% focused on Frosinone.”

Pisacane also credited coach Massimiliano Alvini, who previously worked with Calò at Cosenza and pushed for his signing.

“His relationship with Alvini is wonderful. Both he and director Castagnini really wanted him last year and did everything to sign him, and he’s fully repaying that trust,” he said. “For me, Alvini has achieved far too little compared to what he could have.”

“Giacomo is calm, though, and even more focused and motivated for the game against Cagliari.”