On the sidelines of the event which rewarded the children of local schools who participated in the competition “The best goal of our national teams” (organized by the Italian Embassy in collaboration with the FIGC), Gigi Buffon commented on the victory againstAlbaniawhich began with the emotional complication of goal a “very cold”: «We were really good because we demonstrated that we are a balanced national team that has awareness and even after a shock start that could have destabilized us, we continued to play, to grind out the game and, as the coach said before the match, our strength is to hang on to the game. We did that and fully deserved the victory. Did Spalletti say that we need to get out of our comfort zones? Well, but that’s how he is: he always tries to make the most of what he has available and therefore uses the stick, every now and then the carrot and I think they are inevitable tools if you want to try to get the most out of the kids ».
Buffon and the emotions of Dortmund
The problem of missed goals remains, of one “lack of malice” which in the long run risks having a burden: «It’s the old story of the glass being half full or half empty, it depends how you want to see it. In my opinion we must really pay attention to the development of the match: the shocking start, the disadvantage and the serenity with which we managed to remedy the situation in 12/15 minutes. And this was the strongest signal to take. Then, among many good things there were some that needed to be perfected because probably, as the coach said and as many people think, with a little more cynicism and a little more of that anger in wanting to close the match, we probably wouldn’t have risked seeing a victory that was of capital importance vanish in recovery time. Similarities between Spalletti and Lippi? Yes, one thing in particular: the management of men, of the group. So there is the moment in which it is nice to be friends with the group and the moment in which the group must understand that there is a commander. These two attitudes, alternated in the right way, must be present if we want to remain credible to the end. Turnover with Spain? Spalletti made it clear that our desire is to get the best out of everyone, and therefore the match against Spain will also have to be played to give our best, make a good impression and continue on this path.”.
Last passage on the parade (passed too silent) by Donnarumma in recovery on Manaj: “Handover? But we shouldn’t have waited for that one, he made even more difficult ones. But that was very important because there would have been no more time for a repeat and it put a terribly important result on ice.”. My emotions? «Well, seeing myself again in Dortmund, in that stadium with Del Piero, it is clear that some reference to 18 years earlier was inevitable. Comparisons with Italy-Spain 2016 in France? That was a Spain at the end of the cycle, while we are now at the beginning of a cycle that will be able to give its best in a couple of years, but which can already give us considerable satisfaction”.
