Fat Grazianiformer striker of theItalia and also of Udinese, he commented on the elimination of the Azzurri from the European Championships, which reached yesterday in the round of 16 against Switzerland: “The next day it hurts less, one becomes aware of it, takes note of it. However, the disappointment is strong, not I expected it. In football you can lose, but here there was a lesson in football and that can’t help but hurt.”
Is anything saved from yesterday?
“There was nothing good, a team at the mercy of itself. We were never in the game, we created little or nothing. Unfortunately, we will only remember one thing about this national team: it was never a team, there was never an identity. I don’t know how much the changes in formation and players had an impact, usually a base of 9/11 always exists. Perhaps it created insecurity. And then the physical aspect: Switzerland made the ball travel and Italy always came in second. Unfortunately, there was no logic in yesterday’s team”.
Donnarumma the only champion?
“Bastoni, Barella, Chiesa… They could play for all the other national teams. These three, for example, could play for Spain. Apart from these 3-4 names, the others are good players. But they arrived out of form: Scamacca is the shadow of the player who made the difference in Atalanta, for example.”
Spalletti?
“We consider coaches too important, we give them too much credit and too much blame. He has certainly made mistakes, even conceptual ones. I think of the 5 defenders he put in against Spain. But then there are the players. I would have insisted on a team with an identity, I think of Chiesa who plays and doesn’t play, of Frattesi who first plays and then is forgotten. This lack of identity in my opinion may have created some negative situations in the team. He must be the right coach, also learning from the mistakes made. Luciano must absolutely stay”.
Is there actually a lack of talent in this generation?
“The problem is that 80% of Serie A players are foreigners. That’s too many. Italians are only 20% and if we don’t give strength to our movement, to our youth sectors and to our trainers it’s a problem, we won’t go anywhere. Many of our boys get lost. Even in the second teams there are 6-7 foreigners. Two years ago Lecce won the Primavera championship with 11 foreigners on the pitch… We’ve won a lot at youth level, but of the boys who won with the Under 19s, how many are playing in Serie A? At 19-20 years old you’re already a football player”.
