According to reports, Ricardo Sá Pinto is a well-known name not only for volleyball fans but also for all sports enthusiasts. Sá Pinto, who previously coached Iran’s national volleyball team, is currently the head coach of Italy’s women’s national volleyball team. On the sidelines of introducing Italy’s national volleyball teams, he talked about the young star of Barcelona.

Ahead of the Champions League night in Milan and the second leg of the semi-final where Inter will face Barcelona, Sá Pinto pointed to Yamal’s exceptional brilliance, saying that this young star, who shines at Barça, would not have been able to play in Italian teams. He said that Italians’ negative attitude towards young stars and xenophobia in the country does not allow players like Yamal to shine.

Sá Pinto said: “Yamal would not have been able to play like this if he were in Italy. Not even a father could shine this much in Italy. Why? Because in Italy, everyone distrusts young players and looks at them with suspicion. This is not limited to football; in all sports, we see this distrust and skepticism towards young players. Moreover, we must accept that there is xenophobia in Italy. This mindset must change. We must give opportunities to young players, both in Serie A and the Italian national team. It is the young players who bring excitement to sports.”