We only have one chance to enter the adventure of this European championship and try to have fun this time too: we must first tell ourselves the truth about our national team which will play its debut match in Germany tomorrow, in Dortmund. The whole truth. Without making any concessions. The more we tell ourselves how things are, the more we will be able to evaluate everything that will happen to the Azzurri and Luciano Spalletti calmly, without anxiety, with lightness, and perhaps even with flashes of joy.
To begin: we are the reigning champions, but we are not among the favourites. We weren’t even three years ago. The city of the time, Roberto Mancini – the man who sensationally failed to qualify for the World Cup for the second time in a row, suddenly abandoning us to fill his wallet with Arab dollars – however succeeded in a real feat. Of course, he didn’t have any champions at his disposal either. But at the center of his defense there were still two elderly masters like Chiellini and Bonucci. You will then remember some Italian players who were blossoming (Donnarumma), and others in amazing form (Verratti and Jorginho). Mancini was extremely clever at making all of this enough. Helped by the magnetic gaze of Gianluca Vialli and adding a precise and reasonable idea of play (moving forward together, in a group, helping each other, dribbling and suffering, if necessary). Luck, in the martyrdom of the penalty shootout, ultimately proved decisive in deciding to be on our side.
Italy, no champion at home
All this for historiographical precision. And to immediately clarify that the current scenario is, if possible, much more complex. You know everything about Spalletti’s call-ups. Someone lost him due to injury. But with a bit of intellectual honesty it is impossible to write that if Berardi, Zaniolo and Scalvini, or Acerbi and Udogie were in the Iserlohn retreat, the bookmakers would change their prices. The truth is that the city did not leave any champions at home. To clarify: in the end he had to choose between Fagioli, with the stench of the disqualification still on him, and Ricci (ok, once upon a time we could even do without Juliano, Pecci, Di Bartolomei). Fagioli, according to Spalletti, is the one among the young players who interprets the role of point guard in the most modern way. We consider someone 23 years old to be young (Jude Bellingham is 20): and this already explains a lot about current Italian football, and its gigantic limitations.
We have to win against Albania
However, to stay with the recent news: the fittest of the group seems to be Frattesi, who is a reserve at Inter. Di Lorenzo and Chiesa seem exhausted. The Napoli captain, among other things, is the only one with a minimum of leadership in the group. As for Church: in addition to the well-known tears, one would also expect some goals. Because, as we know, we have real difficulties in throwing it in.
Thus we arrive at Scamacca: in the last friendly match, against Bosnia, he gave important signals, and he also comes from a good end to the season with Atalanta. Of course he never shone in blue. Between the accusations of going crazy at the PlayStation, of thinking a little too much about hair with highlights and of being “lazy”, he has so far received more criticism from Spalletti than compliments.
Buffon, our head of delegation, said that Scamacca could prove to be as decisive as Paolo Rossi was at the Spanish World Cup. Either it was a (superfluous) joke, or we are one step away from exorcisms. Spalletti, without getting there, however thought it appropriate to ask five legends to appear in Coverciano and light the fuse of emulation among the Azzurri. You will have seen the photo opportunity with Rivera, Baggio, Totti, Del Piero and Antognoni: all magnificent number 10s in the history of the national team. A number that has now ended up on the shoulders of Pilgrims. It’s stupid to make comparisons, but it’s like this: we have to expect some imaginative shots from him. Or from Barella. Who unfortunately is in bad shape, and we don’t know if he will be there in the debut match against Albania. Better to be clear: you have to win it by force. Next we have Spain and Croatia.
Spalletti and the time that doesn’t exist
Spalletti knows everything. He saw everything. He is an extraordinary football man, a football inventor, who lives from football. It’s our luck. It doesn’t escape him that the team is young (eleven out of twenty-six players have less than ten appearances for Italy and this, in a tough event like the European Championship, can have a decisive impact). He is the first to say that we need to improve our speed, we still have too many breaks, we need to put more personality into ourselves and be more reactive, more cynical and precise in the opponent’s area. In short: we still have to become a team and it is clear that he would need more time to shape it.
Except there isn’t any. The referee is about to blow the whistle. So strength and courage, guys. Remember that we have a dream in our heart. And, above all, that we are Italy.
