Italy striker Mateo Retegui says that Brendan Rodgers, who manages him at Al Qadsiah Saudi Arabia, is a “wonderful man”.
The Italians face Northern Ireland, where Rodgers is from, in a World Cup play-off semi-final in Bergamo on Thursday as the four-time winners look to avoid missing out on a third consecutive tournament.
In a week when Bosnia-Herzegovina manager Sergej Barbarez was forced to apologise to Brondby boss Steve Cooper after alleging he dropped midfielder Benjamin Tahirovic to benefit Wales in their play-off semi-final, Retegui says there was no ill-feeling with Rodgers.
“I’ve only got good things to say about him,” the 26-year-old said about Rodgers, who joined the club in December.
“Ever since Brendan came to the club I don’t think we’ve lost a game, we’ve won 14 and drawn three.
“I speak a great deal with him and I have a wonderful rapport with Brendan.”
When he was asked if Rodgers had joked he wanted Italy to lose to Northern Ireland, Retegui was full of praise for the former Liverpool, Leicester City and Celtic manager.
“He’s wished me the best of luck but we speak about other things,” he said.
“He’s a wonderful man, he’s a top coach, and he’s already proven that at all of the clubs he’s worked for in the past.
“I have a great rapport with Brendan Rodgers and when I go back we’ll have another chat.”
The winner of Thursday’s game in Bergamo will face either Wales or Bosnia-Herzegovina for a spot in the finals this summer, where a group with co-hosts Canada, Switzerland and Qatar awaits.
Italy missed out on the last two World Cups after losing to Sweden and North Macedonia in shock play-off defeats, but Retegui said he was “pretty relaxed” despite the pressure on Gennaro Gattuso’s side to progress.
“I think the same goes for the team as a whole,” said Retegui, who added he was “fit and firing” to face Northern Ireland.
“Over the last few days, we have spoken about staying calm, being free-minded and not overthinking things.
“There’s only one result, which is to win the game. So we need to keep doing things as we have been doing.
“Ever since the head coach has come in, I think the team has shown a bit more and we need to kick on from that.
“We need to battle, we need to fight, we need to go out there and take the game by the scruff of the neck.”
