Classy Italy captain Marco Verratti raved about Declan Rice and the West Ham star has changed the narrative with a man of the match display.
It took the rest of the world some time to wake up to the supreme talent of West Ham talisman Declan Rice.
The Hammers captain has had to gradually earn the respect of many rival fans and pundits with top performance after top performance for England and West Ham over the last few years.
From the minute West Ham fans laid eyes on Rice in the first team they knew he was special.
But this season the narrative around Rice has changed dramatically.
The West Ham skipper has been seriously questioned by some of the top pundits around.
There has been an undercurrent of disappointment in Rice at West Ham this season too.
Especially after he announced his desire to play regular Champions League football and compete for the top trophies in the game during that England press conference at the World Cup.
But in his performance levels for the Hammers too.
Rice responded to criticism from the likes of Graeme Souness and Roy Keane in an England press conference before the big game with Italy in Naples.
While there have been harsh words on these shores for Rice, over in Italy the West Ham man has been hailed.
Classy Italy captain Marco Verratti raved about Rice as the West Ham star changes the narrative with a man of the match display.
Classy Italy captain Marco Verratti raves about Declan Rice as West Ham star changes the narrative with man of the match display
“I really like him as a player,” Verratti said about Rice before facing him at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.
“He provides great balance and shape to the team, and he’s got wonderful physical attributes.
“He really helps his team out a lot. He’s a No.6, a defensive midfielder that England really need. I’m sure that he will end up at a top side because I’ve played against him many times, he never gives up, he’s got a wonderful attitude, and he’s still very young so he’s got a huge room for improvement.”
Azzurri captain Verratti’s gushing claims were proved right in emphatic fashion on Thursday night.
Rice’s Azzurri dominance will leave pundits feeling blue
Rice scored a rare goal and put in a man of the match display for England as they beat Italy 2-1.
Besides the coolly taken finish, Rice was absolutely everywhere. Midfield great Steven Gerrard said it best at half-time when he said Rice had dominated and controlled the game.
It was a notable step up in performance level from Rice after some indifferent form for West Ham of late.
Souness and Keane had criticised Rice’s lack of goals. Well the strike against Italy was his third for England.
That’s just one short of Souness’ four international goals for Scotland and well on the way to surpassing Keane’s nine.
Football is a fickle old game and Rice’s dominant display will help change the negative narrative around him overnight.
As long as West Ham can stay up it has probably cemented West Ham’s £100m valuation of their star man too.
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