The Italian national team has exited the European Football Championship, but RAI has not. Football evenings are dominating TV ratings and the team of commentators and opinion makers of RaiNews, unlike what is seen in the studio where there is still something to record, seems to have completed and consolidated the modernization process that was started with the recent World Cup in Qatar. In this team Andrea Stramaccioni and Lele Adani are certainly the most prominent profiles but, if at the World Cup the exaltation of the football by Lele Adani stole the show from everyone, including Stramaccioni who was harshly criticized for the ‘possessed’ commentary of Argentina-Saudi Arabia, at this time the former Inter coach is proving to be the best commentator we have in Italy at the moment .
The only thing that Andrea Stramaccioni and Lele Adani have in common is their dubious reliability as coaches of a football team. The differences as a commentator, however, are many. Lele Adani loves emphasis and he is good, unquestionably good, but he often exaggerates and does not remain relevant going after the football, to the play of the individual, so much so that it often ends up out of context. As in Portugal-Czechia, Diogo Jota’s goal to make it 2-1 was canceled for offside. Cancelo makes a cross from the midfield and Adani loses his head: “Let’s start talking about football properly! This is the most Portuguese move of the evening. The movement to open up and free a full-back with the feet of an attacking midfielder. This is Cancelo!”. Poor Stefano Bizzotto: “There is a check in progress…”. Adani, however, has now left: “But the play! We’re interested in the game! It was built properly!”. Bizzotto’s next sentence is a sentence: “Offside. Goal disallowed.” This is the reason why the couple made up of Alberto Rimedio and Lele Adani will always remain too unbalanced. One is always forced to chase the other, even those who shoot the hardest, losing sight of the objectivity of the game.
An aspect that however cannot be said of Andrea Stramaccioni who, with his interventions, complete the story by Dario Di Gennaro. Stramaccioni puts the facts first. He adds, if possible, information pertinent to what the viewer is watching. Like last night, in Spain-Georgia, in the case of Rodri’s goal that tied the game just before the break and that was evaluated for the possible position of Morata, disturbing the Georgian goalkeeper Mamardashvili. Stramaccioni says it immediately loud and clear: “The point is the view. If the player who is in front of the goalkeeper is in an irregular position: then it is offside. It is a goal. They will have evaluated it: it has no impact on the action”. Perfect balance between passion and professionalism without raising his voice too much (yesterday, Kvara almost scored a wonder goal from behind midfield and couldn’t hold back).
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Dario Di Gennaro and Andrea Stramaccioni
All things considered, Andrea Stramaccioni is probably the best pundit at the moment. Style and content with the use of friction, that is, without screaming. A treasure to be protected by Rai that deserves more space, even to be there, in headphones, to tell the final of a European Championship that, due to seniority, seems destined for Alberto Rimedio and Antonio Di Gennaro. A shame.
Gennaro Marco Duello (1983) is a professional journalist. Graduated in Communication Sciences at Suor Orsola Benincasa in Naples. He has been working at Fanpage.it since 2011. He made his debut in fiction in 2022 with the novel Un male purissimo (Rogiosi). California Milk Bar – La voragine di Secondigliano (Rogiosi, 2023) is his second novel.
