Mandragora: ‘The best period of my career’, aims for Italy call-up

Originally posted on Football Italia | By Peter Young | Last updated Apr 10, 2025 5:42 PM ET

Rolando Mandragora feels that he is currently in the ‘best period’ of his career after Fiorentina’s 2-1 victory over Celje in the Conference League quarter-final first leg on Thursday night, and adds that he ‘really’ wants to earn a call-up to the Italy national team squad to mark his recent form.

Mandragora hit Fiorentina’s second of the night from the penalty spot in a 2-1 win over Celje in the Conference League quarter-final first leg, following Luca Ranieri’s opener and preceding Logan Delaurier-Chaubet’s deficit-halving penalty midway through the second half.

You can see how it unfolded on the Football Italia Liveblog.

Mandragora: ‘This is the best period of my career’

Speaking to Sky Sport Italia after full-time, Mandragora said: “We’re happy, winning in Europe is never easy. We had a bit of difficulty towards the end, but David (De Gea) gave us a massive hand.”

Asked if he feels more comfortable after Fiorentina’s recent switch from a 4-2-3-1 to a 3-5-2 system, he said: “Yes, I’m feeling really good. It’s definitely the best period of my career. I’ve had injuries that held me back in other good moments, now I hope to enjoy this time as much as possible.”

Asked if he thinks a call-up to Luciano Spalletti’s Italy squad would be a nice reward, he replied: “I really hope so.”

There was a long debate over the awarding of the penalty that Mandragora won and scored from. There was a slight touch from a Celje defender, which wasn’t particularly obvious at first viewing.

“I was convinced I felt a touch. Ranieri was scared, but it was a bobble that made me lift the ball.

“I want to dedicate this goal to my dad, who drove for 10 hours to come and see me.”

This article first appeared on Football Italia and was syndicated with permission.

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