The homework has to be handed in in half a day and finishing it risks staying up all night. The advantage is that we talk about football, which is more cheerful than the test on derivatives. Italy-Switzerland has already begun, because Spalletti and Yakin have been thinking for days about formations, positions on the field and strategies. Italy has a hidden team that no one knows about and never talks about: a group of four trusted observers who go to stadiums to see the opponents and in a short time – sometimes by the next morning – compile a report to send to the coach and his match analysts. Strengths, weaknesses, key players, team structure. Obviously they have seen Switzerland more than once and have spoken about it to Spalletti. Indeed, like all scouts they are looking ahead: they already have two tickets for England-Slovakia, the possible opponents in the quarter-finals.
how they work
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Marco Scarpa, a UEFA Pro licensed coach at Club Italia since 2011, is the manager of the observer group. Gian Cesare Discepoli, Claudio Coppi and Andrea Serino work with him. Discepoli, coach for years between B and C, explains the principles: “We saw all the teams live. Spalletti asks us to give an idea of the team structure of the opponents in the various phases of the game: in possession, in non-possession, in transitions, in special situations such as the defensive phase in the last meters of the pitch”. In addition, an observer in his report must indicate the characteristics of each player, specifying for example whether a midfielder is an organizer or a raider. If Italy decides to double down on Ndoye or take away a solution from Rieder, the choice could arise from the comment of an observer.
who have seen
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The heart of the decisions, however, obviously remains the coach and his work group. “We give Spalletti elements that in our opinion stand out and he will be able to evaluate – say Scarpa and Discepoli -. Switzerland, as you have seen, has rhythm and individuality but Italy has more quality”. Scarpa has seen Croatia, Albania, Spain, Holland, France, Georgia, Portugal, England and Slovenia live. Discepoli among others Germany, Hungary, Slovakia, Ukraine, Belgium, Romania and Austria. Switzerland was managed above all by Serino but it is clear that everyone gave a hand for the eighth finals. “We work after the match, sometimes even at night but it is not hard work, it is a pleasure – says Discepoli -. I struggle to call it work”. And Scarpa: “I was in retreat with Spalletti and we have regular contact with the match analysts Marco Mannucci and Luca Dalmasso”.
What history do they have?
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Obviously each national team works in its own way and the observers, unlike what happens with club scouts, never move together. At most they meet in the stadiums, say hello and then off they go, towards other cities, other trains, other matches. Everyone has a map, decided by a manager, and their paths cross. Some return home and then leave again, others stay in Germany for the entire tournament. Switzerland and France also use youth coaches as scouts and the two figures actually overlap: it is difficult to be an observer if you have not been a coach at least for a while.
who they prefer
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The network of matches and knowledge builds a map of the European Championship. Scarpa and Disciples have common ideas. “I believe that the level is becoming uniform, as a result of globalization – says Scarpa -. It seems to me that the wingers are decisive and of all people, Doku from Belgium impressed me”. Discepoli makes a slightly different choice: “I was struck by Mikautadze, he is a modern, dynamic player, he attacks the goal and takes care of the defensive phase. He knows how to do everything and everything a little more than well. Then of course, the Spain wingers: Yamal and Nico Williams.” For all of them, the European Championship is the tip of the iceberg, it is reading Dostoevsky after having corrected the drafts of emerging writers: Spalletti’s observers deal with all the national teams during the year, starting with the Under 15s gathering – the first blue selection – and they reach the players worth 100 million. The details observed change, the passion does not and a basic desire remains for everyone: to continue taking German trains, to sleep little in Gelsenkirchen, to see Englishmen, Dutchmen, Austrians, Spaniards, Germans or who knows who. He would mean having Italy still in the running.
