Enough idle chatter. It’s Sunday, it’s incredibly hot and the scattering haunts us just as there are a few hours left until the mother – or perhaps she is the aunt – of all qualifiers to the round of 16. I immediately put aside the bitterness, the criticisms, the malice, the tactical notes – I would have put this, I would have put that – and other scatterings and I take on the responsibility (at no cost) to present my Italy anti-Croatia. Naturally after having seen and seen Dalic’s team in action again and again: even individually we have known the Croatians for years, just the twenty-one-year-old Sucic of Salzburg can represent a half-unknown. Their football is invariable. So forward with a very personal Italy, strongly influenced by the performance against Spain which said a lot. I hear it repeated with ever greater insistence that Spalletti should switch to a three-man defence. Outdated stuff: now everyone builds 3 plus 2 plus 5 and defends man-to-man. The problem is no longer the design, but the attitude. Four or three, then? I answer two, but this big. And active, very active. Croatia is, like Spain, a team of setters: Kovacic, Brozovic, Modric, Pasalic and Sucic himself, should he replace one of the three from the start or during the match.
The most noticeable differences between the two selections are these: the Spaniards are on average young, Croatians are “elderly”, but also more experienced and certainly slower in the proposal. However, I remember that against Fabian and company they fought on possession. Furthermore, Dalic’s wingers are not as fast as Nico and Yamal. On purpose, Kvara don’t hold it against me but, if I were DeLa, I would sell it immediately to PSG for 100 million and I would gladly pay the 55 of the clause of the Spaniard from Bilbao who sliced up Di Lorenzo. The best thing tomorrow evening would be to be aggressive, Gasperin-like in one-on-one situations and patient both in possession and non-possession phases. I am convinced that the main difficulty that Spalletti will encounter when making choices is of a psychological nature: is it better to focus on the pride of those who have done badly against Spain or on fresh forces? This is where the coach will have to give his best and make use of his indisputable knowledge. Finally, do you want the names of the players I would use from the start? Mancini, or good morning, then a physical marker, by contact, and then Darmian and Zaccagni, that man knows how to aim it. TO Scamacca I would give it another chance.
In Italy the “minor sports” eat up football
I don’t know if you noticed, and especially if Those in football understood it – presidents, managers, institutions, technicians – but Italy is changing its skin. The revolution hoped for for decades by fans of the so-called minor sports is taking place. While football leaks (rare exceptions), the other sports are very popular: tennis, athletics, fencing, swimming, volleyball, water polo and skiing are world class. We are not at the historic overtaking point. But if football doesn’t get a move on and do something urgent, effective and definitive, in a few years it will become a minor god.
