Former Hellas Verona Youth supervisor Claudio Calvetti was recently interviewed by La Gazzetta dello Sport ahead of Roma’s upcoming league clash with Verona to discuss the progress made by Albanian defender Marash Kumbulla, who grew up in Verona’s youth sector and emerged under former Hellas coach Ivan Juric before moving to the Italian capital in 2020.
“I expected Marash to find the right path at some point,” said Calvetti.
“He is a serious young man, very determined. He has good work ethic and this certainly helped him to be ready when it was needed.”
“I don’t know if he struggled at first, but we are talking about a 21-year-old boy playing in a really difficult environment.”
“There are obviously some challenging moments, but he doesn’t give up, he has never done it since he decided he wanted to be a footballer. He never gives up.”
“He can improve in almost everything, he is only 21 years old. But he is already a structured player, not slow, physically strong and good at heading the ball in the opponent’s penalty box.”
“He will have to improve, but he is strong. The first few times I saw him he was bit slow because he had grown up quickly, but I immediately believed in him and I don’t think I was wrong.”
