18.00 – It’s the eve of Switzerland-Italy, the first of the round of 16 of Euro 2024 which will be staged tomorrow at the Olympiastadion in Berlin. From the press room of the stadium which will also host the final Luciano Spalletti in a few minutes he will present the match against the Swiss.
6.55pm – The press conference begins: “I’m in contact with many of my former players and Kvara is one of them, we exchanged congratulations for passing through. Now he’s at a top level and can play against any opponent and in any team. Young people to play? There are many kids who push to reach a high level and we must have the courage to let them play. It’s a slightly different type of football, it’s less about individual striving, but it’s still the best solution to create very high quality football.”
How does it feel for the national team to return to a stadium where the 2006 World Cup was won?
“Beyond the fact that everyone remembers that moment, we had Buffon on the bus who spoke about that final to everyone and made us relive the emotion that we experienced at home at that time. We also have this match to honor, we have to be at the level of this match that the players brought home. Do you know that there are Italy fans in Brazil too? It’s a bigger responsibility to know that we have fans all over the world, even in Brazil. Even though we were in the minority inside the stadium against Albania and Croatia, we knew we had all the fans and all our audience in front of the televisions. This affection is still felt, even if they are not present”.
This is the match that marks the border between a good European Championship or not?
“I don’t know, in my opinion we have to do something better to make this clear than what we have done so far. We had this qualification that was very noticeable, it had been a difficult draw and the players suffered it a bit, as probably the ‘I suffered too. Now I expect to see them more relaxed, also because the consideration immediately goes to direct confrontation, you have to act We go to the next round if we win this match…”
Who are the penalty takers of this national team?
“The penalty taker is the one who is able to manage the emotion well when it happens. We let everyone take penalties, but it’s not an ideal solution if we already think about it… If you try too many penalties, if you take them all well, I don’t know. In these days here, everyone has been taking penalties, they all seemed like penalty takers. Then maybe you play a little game and you already see something different. It will be important to have a fundamental depth of personality, we will do everything to try to win the match and we know that we have a very uncomfortable client in front of us. The results say it: there were teams that got through the round very well, even if they weren’t accredited, and this says a lot about the difficulty of playing any match”.
We expect a very versatile eleven. How do you expect the match to unfold?
“It’s always the same thing. We haven’t yet been able to express the level we can express: in some moments yes, but then we haven’t been able to maintain it over time. This qualification came at the last second, which however in my opinion is deserved, it must still make us think that we cannot afford those drops in tension like we had at the beginning of the second half, at certain moments of the matches, the fact of now being in the heart of the competition because you have qualified gives you that level you always have to perform because there is no alternative. Psychologically and personally, I expect a little more than what we have managed to show so far.”
Could these precedents between Switzerland and Italy that led to the elimination of your national team from the World Cup be a reason for revenge for you?
“We take all the ideas that can determine a bit of reaction, a bit of stimulation. Then the stadium, the memory of that final and Buffon who tells us two thousand things. We are keen to determine everything as best as possible for the our people, for our fans. It is clear that we need to see in the real match whether all these things are understood or not. We are there on purpose, we listen to as many things as possible from our players and try to give them as much stimulation it’s possible because by adding things day after day it can click when you least expect it. Tomorrow’s race will be the next step, we’ll see if this will be the moment to gather all this seriousness and all this commitment that we have made available.”
What do you think of Switzerland and its footballers?
“Yakin is very good, Switzerland is a team that is good on the pitch and showed its qualities against Germany. From what we have seen and from what we know first-hand, we know that he has quality and strength. Xhaka is an important player at an international level. But these are all things that are part of the level and the football that we can show off.”
Have you found the one who says things out?
“I don’t know, I haven’t found it. Maybe you can give me a hand…”
Could there be Scamacca’s exploit tomorrow?
“He can score at any time, he has that quality and that flair, those flashes that tear you apart. He has a harder time being connected in his behavior with the team. Joking with him I had called him lazy, then we talked about it again and he was very amused by this thing… But then to be able to continuously show off his qualities he needs to always be within the team and in this he has a bit more difficulty. He must always remain connected and in a position to receive. Because then he makes the meters, when you look at the satellites he brings home his work, but not always in the right way and this penalizes him a bit. But then he has a flair and a strength… he has a shot that I struggle to find another as good among those I have trained. Sometimes if I am behind the goal when he shoots it is difficult to move out of the way. Are you playing tomorrow? It’s worth seeing, that’s the only doubt I have. But then there are other evaluations to be made, but there won’t be anyone left out between Scamacca and Retegui, they both provide great solutions and we just need to understand who to play first and who to play after.”
How is the situation in defense? Who will replace Calafiori?
“We’ll have to see Bastoni tomorrow, Dimarco won’t be there. Bastoni had a bit of a fever again, we fixed him and he was much better today. We’ll have to see what response he’ll get tonight. Mancini will play in place of Calafiori, he has the right amount of experience and in this case I want to play with a right-footer on the right and a left-footer on the left. I prefer it that way.”
7.30pm – Press conference concluded.
