A football lesson. In some ways even one ugly figure. Which cannot be reduced only to the greater “freshness” of the opponents, whatever that means. The explanation of Spallettiwhich basically blamed the physical condition, this time it sounds like a alibi. For his Italy, and for the coach himself. Let’s be clear: the sorry about the legs it just doesn’t hold up. The national team is not a club that goes into retreat and can make mistakes preparation. At the end of a very long and exhausting season they got there for better or worse all players of all countries under the same conditions: there is no valid reason in the world why the Spaniards they had to run more than the Italians. If anything it can be said that they ran better, because as the great one said Roberto Baggio (how much would be needed today), “it’s always better to let the ball run, because she doesn’t sweat”. Dominating the game, moving the center of gravity in our half of the pitch and always maintaining possession, Spain forced the Azzurri to chase for ninety minutes, sending them into a shortage of oxygen and inevitably pushing them into mistakes, as on the occasion of the own goal of Calafiorior the repeated blunders of By Lorenzo.
We then return to littleness of the Italian squad: we are poor, there is little to discuss about this. Apart from a couple of players of real international caliber, like Stretcher or Sticksthis is a mediocre team, and it is mediocre especially in the last 20-30 meters of the pitch, where the difference makes the difference, and we haven’t produced real talent for over a decade. But perhaps not even this is enough to explain the debacle of Gelsenkirchen. Because the difference with Spain is there, it is evident, but not as abysmal as it seemed on the pitch. Especially since we are certainly not talking about the best Spain ever, on the contrary. And then in football ideas can often make the difference even more than players.
Well, the truth is that Italy just didn’t seem to have any. And this directly calls into question him Spalletti himself. Welcomed as the man of providence, the only one capable of saving the shackafter the failure to qualify for the World Cup and the betrayal of Left-handed. Instead, up to this point the effect of the technician Certaldo it was seen more in words than in deeds. Many Chatterdecalogues, interviews, you proclaim off the pitch, little substance. Almost nothing can be found of the relational and character football of Spalletti’s teams in Italy: zero patternspoor personality, the unsuccessful attempt to reconcile the characteristics of the players (who seem more suited to playing with three, if nothing else, the Inter structure is used to that formation with Inzaghi), with your own game ideas. The result is one squad untiedpassive and with as many interpreters as it seems uncomfortable. And let it not be said that the coach cannot have an impact in one month of the year, because for example Anthony With you in 2016 with a national team even poorer than this one he managed to play a great Europeanit’s the same Left-handed he won it three years ago certainly more with the strength of the group than of the individuality. Monday against Croatia it’s already a race of no return. Spalletti’s Italy will be needed, if it exists.
Twitter: @lVendemiale
