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The blue playmaker: “The coach’s energy is contagious. A difficult year, I wanted to change: so I cut my hair. The war? We players are privileged, I pray for those involved”
Nico Mannion returned to that of a year ago, at the Pre-Olympic and the Tokyo Games. Then he moved from Golden State to Virtus Bologna with great expectations, but between viruses and other injuries his season was on the sidelines. Gianmarco Pozzecco gave him space and he was one of the best in the friendly preparations for the world qualifiers and the European championship. Now he is in excellent shape, he runs, accelerates, takes initiatives without uncertainty. Today, at 17.30 (live Sky Sport), the national team plays in Riga, Latvia, against Ukraine in the first match of the second qualifying phase for the 2023 World Cup.