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The teenage midfielder became the youngest Italian to have scored a brace in a Champions League match and was compared to a World Cup winner
Roma star Nicolo Zaniolo made comparisons with Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba thanks to his record-breaking performance in the Champions League.
At the age of 19, the beloved playmaker became the youngest Italian to have scored twice in an elite European match.
He achieved this feat in the first leg of Roma's last 16 games against Porto.
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Zaniolo now sees his potential noticed by a global audience, but those of his native country have been aware of his abilities for some time and consider it as destined for the summit.
The boss of Italy Roberto Mancini said Corriere della Sera of a player currently in Azzurri's Under-21 configuration: "Zaniolo? I followed him to the U19 European Championship and, by his side, others also impressed: [Sandro] Tonali, [Moise] Kean and [Gianluca] Scamacca.
"I loved Zaniolo because he's physically strong, he often dictates on the pitch and when he has the ball, he can never remove it."
He added that one player that Inter had allowed to play under his contract to land Radja Nainggolan in the summer of 2018 was: "Why did Inter leave me? he let go? Sometimes with young people, it's hard to understand.
"I've seen some qualities, it's completely different from [Nicolo] Barella, Jorginho and [Marco] Verratti. It has the features to do very well.
"The comparison with Pogba is there, but now he needs calm and patience, otherwise he will get in trouble."
It is considered that it is only a matter of time before Zaniolo is recognized internationally.
Once that happens, he will be part of an exciting group of young talents emerging in Italian football.
Mancini thinks that a bright future is coming for a country that has missed out on its place at the 2018 World Cup.
However, he is eager to see promising players rewarded with regular playing time and high level club football.
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The former manager of Inter and Manchester City added that sonal, Tonali, target of Liverpool Juventus, Kean, would have said: "In Italy, there is more courage, certainly, but there could be more because there are a lot of good young players.
"For Juve, Kean does not play, but he would play almost anywhere else. Tonali should play in A, even [Stefano] Sensi and [Pietro] Pellegri always has a great quality.
"Young people are the common thread. In two years we can build a strong team that can succeed at the Euro and the World Cup in 2022 can be great. "
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