Firenze. “I’ve had a lot of reflections, the factors of a match like that are always many. I had a terrible summer, because the discussion always ended there”. Luciano Spalletti admits that the defeat against Switzerland at the European Championship is still his great regret: “But failure is not a correct definition: the only really bad thing was Switzerland. We were also beaten by Spain, but then you saw the path Spain took. Sure, I could spend three months on the tractor and then come here to the national team, but I can’t do it. A professional seeks continuous improvement. It bothers me when people look at you with pity, and think of you: poor thing. Poor thing what? I’ll show you.”
Spalletti and the collapse of Berlin
“We have been submissive, we have not honored our history. And I feel responsible for what happened, I always think that my responsibilities are 100%. At most I can change the percentage: 98% mine, 1% Baldini and 1% Domenichini, my assistants. But the players must be completely relieved of responsibility: I told them that I probably put too much pressure on them, I didn’t give them time to enjoy the Italy jersey. I burdened them with too much responsibility. I have to be careful to take on new things to be able to bring a different message. I have to be the first to not give up in the face of difficulties, I have to have self-esteem, and faith in the team”.
Italy, Spalletti’s call-ups for the Nations League: Brescianini and Okoli the new additions, Tonali returns
Spalletti and self-criticism
“I have to make some choices and probably since now we have to take age into account, I’ll have the young players do the trials now: I can’t do it when there are the qualifiers. I’m going to try to create a new group, a new team, transferring less pressure to them. There’s also tactics in the considerations: I’ve put too much responsibility on the players with the transition from a 4-man defense to a 3-man setup. From now on the defensive and offensive phases will always be three-way: the request during the same action created problems”.
Spalletti and Gravina’s trust
Minister Abodi was not gentle with the national team: “My will to continue also passes through having understood that the match with Switzerland did not change the consideration that the president of the FIGC had for me. This trust allowed me to immediately get to work to find the causes of this bad defeat. Gravina presented himself from the first day as a prepared, competent and sincere person. I spoke to him almost every day on the phone. One of the main reasons why I accepted the job was this attitude of his”.
Spalletti on Chiesa and Tonali
While the failure to convene the Church is only temporary (“we spoke, we made a balanced assessment. I would have brought him as an extra player and he told me that he had spoken to Liverpool and that he needed to do adequate preparation for the new working methods that are being asked of him”), Tonali is ready after the disqualification for betting: “He has always trained well with his team, even if he hasn’t played for a long time. We have a lot of faith in him, he is one of those I have heard from the most in this period”.
Spalletti and the restricted call-ups
“I only called 23 players because that way the training goes better and because the boys are more relaxed: they will feel totally involved in the project of these two matches. Not to mention the versatility: Udogie, for example, can also be a midfielder very well”.
Spalletti and the sense of guilt
“The performance we had against Switzerland bothered me, the rest is relatively unimportant. Sometimes I act the one who is ready to bite, but these are role-playing games, I have been coaching for a long time. The sore point is that I don’t remember one of my teams being so surrendering. I hope that the players also felt the discomfort that I felt. During Buffon’s speech they seemed very decisive, attentive to Gigi’s words, who also touched on emotional issues. The rest will also be seen in training. When I meet fans, I become more bent in my posture. I spent three days in the splendid Ponza and then I always stayed in the countryside at my home: it bothered me to have made the Italian fans experience an evening like that with Switzerland”.
Spalletti and the desire for Bastoni
The Inter defender, who came out of the match against Atalanta in bad shape, wants to be there for France: “The first to call him was Buffon and Bastoni was more positive than the doctors’ initial pessimism. We’ll evaluate things day by day, he’s confident.”
Spalletti and physical condition
“I showed the data to the players: at the European Championship we were always below the others in terms of intensity, and the athletic difficulties were more evident. When it’s like that, you only have the possibility of keeping the ball: chasing is always more difficult than controlling the game. But the Croatians recognized that we had played on equal terms against a very strong team”.
Spalletti on Locatelli, Jorginho and Acerbi
“Locatelli is a player we know well, he is part of the group. But he can be codified, we know the contribution he can give. Instead Fagioli and Ricci have the possibility of a total change, because they started now”. The summary is that Locatels can come back, while for the veterans Acerbi and Jorginho the experience in the national team seems to be over: “If I bring UnripeI’m taking something home for sure, but the World Cup is in two years. The same goes for Jorginho.”
Spalletti and the Nations League
“With the France we want to play a great game with new players. We have to make new acquaintances for high and strong values, as happened with Calafiori. There is no Chiellini anymore. We need to find him in other players who will give us back our peace of mind. I expect a lot from Kean’s physicality and Reteguifrom Tonali and Brescianini’s race. From Tonali I expect something different compared to the European Championship”.
Spalletti and the concept of selector
The coach admits to having verified the difference between being a club coach and a national team coach, but he doesn’t see anything different between being a selector and a coach: “There’s no difference: when I put eleven players on the field, I’m the selector, like when I call them up. And then I coach them. What do I think of the open market during championships? As if we were making love with one woman while thinking of another.”
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– 2024-09-08 10:27:01
