Gabriele Gravina, we have a problem. And it is certainly not – for now – of a political nature but only of a footballing nature and refers to the very low quality of the Italian club and hence the qualification achieved at the last second while the entire national team was almost on the steps of the plane returning from Leipzig. It is the first problem, not the only one, mind you. It is a problem because after 3 tests, despite the different change of game system and interpreters, we still do not have a clear tactical identity combined with the performance of some talent. Donnarumma has kept Italy on its feet. Calafiori’s blitz and that right-footed shot by Zaccagni have done the rest: too little to aspire to who knows what goal. The goals of the centre forward are missing (Bastoni and Barella have signed the only success in the group) and some high-level performances by those who must produce assists. The second problem is Luciano Spalletti’s reaction on Monday night, in the bowels of the German stadium, to a polite and curious question from a colleague about the Iserlohn pact: the coach reacted by confirming the theory of the change of playing system suggested by the group and signed a tirade about leaks from within. To make things clear, he began to see ghosts and conspiracies that are not there and that belong to the backdated literature of our homegrown football. If the coach, as he himself admitted, listened to the suggestion of the locker room, he did not do well but very well. The explanation is simple: because it has already happened in the past and because, in a virtuous exchange of opinions, the Azzurri made him understand that with 3-5-2 they felt safer.
From now until Saturday, dear Spalletti will chase away useless ghosts and focus on the decisions to be made: how to replace the disqualified Calafiori, how to make the attacking game more productive and how to possibly replace Dimarco who has an obvious lack of brilliance.
