Interview with Süddeutsche: “This year, with Napoli in tenth place, we saw how important Spalletti was for the scudetto”
Mg Milan 06/10/2021 – UEFA Nations League / Italy-Spain / photo Matteo Gribaudi/Image Sport in the photo: Giorgio Chiellini
No, Giorgio Chiellini is no longer on our side. Not on the pitch, at least. The European Championships arrive, and he now lives in Los Angeles. He will comment on the tournament that he won as the absolute protagonist remotely, for an American broadcaster. On July 14, exactly one month before his 40th birthday, he will return to Berlin where he won the 2006 World Cup. The Süddeutsche Zeitung interviewed him.
He says the European Championship three years ago “And the best memory of my entire career. We were certainly a little lucky too. I still think we deserved to win the tournament. Spain and England could have won too, yes. But from the beginning to the end of the tournament I didn’t see a team that had the consistency we had.”
“We were basically a team that liked to have the ball. Verratti, Jorginho, Insigne, Barella were all technical and high quality players. We also knew how to defend ourselves when necessary and we were able to do so when an opponent like Spain in the semi-final was stronger than us in possession of the ball. But that was the big exception. The Spaniards had 70% of ball possession and Dani Olmo was almost unstoppable. Oh mama! Oh mama! It seemed like we would never catch the ball again… But I was in my natural habitat, like a fish in water. Ultimately football is about scoring goals. You can’t win with possession of the ball.”
Mancini went to Saudi Arabia… “This was completely unexpected for me and everyone else. After the failed qualification for the World Cup, something definitely broke. And even if we can’t look into other people’s heads: he made a decision that we professionals can understand. After all, we are Southern Europeans and we always like to argue about everything.”
Tonali and Fagioli, the scandals. Chiellini is ecumenical, let alone: “I feel a little sorry for both of us: facing such a big problem at such a young age is not easy. And they’re good guys. You made a mistake and there are lines that cannot be crossed. It is also true that mistakes are paid for. But I hope they and society learn the right lessons. Because we must not forget: what we are talking about is a social problem.”
Spalletti? “He has always been at the forefront as a coach. It’s a pleasure to listen to him talk about football. He has always been a coach of the highest level and has demonstrated this in all his roles: at Zenit St. Petersburg, Roma, Inter and his other clubs, always achieving great results. The title with Napoli was like the nail polish of his career for him. And this season, with Napoli only tenth, we saw how important he was for Napoli and how much Spalletti was in the champion Napoli.”.
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