Speaking by telephone on Telelombardia, Paolo Bonolis commented on Italy’s poor showing in the match against Switzerland: “Another coach? I don’t know what the FIGC will decide or what the Italian Football Federation will decide Luciano Spalletti. Without a doubt we had a fairly embarrassing European Championship, such short events must involve a very specific game and instead we changed a lot of schemes. There was a lot of confusion on the pitch, we relied on the players’ experience as if to tell them to make do. Then the squad is not rich and thick, he played in the director’s office yesterday Nicolò Fagioli is good but he has been out for a year leaving someone like him at home Samuele Ricci who was the master of the role at Torino; the attack was absolutely sterile, he played on the left Matthew Darmian who is 36 years old. The players were confused themselves, they tried to make do but there were no automatisms. You can’t blame them”.
But why isn’t Bonolis the president of the FIGC? “The game of football is honestly not that complicated, those who have played it at high levels do so because they have the mentality, technique and physique that allow them to do so. But the game is that, you understand it and you know how it works but you don’t know how to put it into practice. Obviously you then have to deal with the players available, when you make a selection you have to make it right and based on something you can afford. If you expect to be a setter for Spain, you are in the grip of who knows what drugs.”
