We bring you Luciano Spalletti’s full press conference on the eve of Italy-France, a match valid for group 2A of the Nations League. This is how our technical commissioner presented the match: “We must be a team that shows many qualities without talking much and going to play good matches. To play the match well you need to have many players who know how to interpret, then now it works in this way here, you have to be able to understand these spaces that come into play create. Spaces change, you have to play in tighter spaces, you need to have more quality. When I see Real Madrid, Manchester City play, it seems to me that their best skill is repeatedly doing normal things well repeated well over and over again. I also see the great play of the champion, but I see the rhythm of things done in a normal way in the great teams.”
Tomorrow the twentieth bench with the Azzurri. A budget?
“I don’t know what my balance is, I think I missed a match, the one against Switzerland. That’s the thing I’m referring to, I consider myself responsible for a defeat, so we tried to do different things. It’s about one game, the others, for better or worse, were games like many others, then let’s never forget the opponents we have in front of us. We faced very strong teams.”
What has changed?
“Having the pleasure of rejoicing, seeing your teammate win. At this moment the most important thing is to make people feel that we are appreciating their attachment to the shirt, their spirit and their commitment. It is something that we must recognize, they are enormous qualities , then the result is often a consequence.”
Italy-France is a match that goes beyond football.
“We are a people of pioneers, in all the places where we go we find this embrace of the Italians who care about the fate of the national team shirt, it must make us even more responsible and strong. It will be easy for France to try to win the match, we must not make reflections. I’m sure we’ll go and play the game we have to play, precisely to dedicate it to all those people who love us.”
You have another training session today, have you already assessed the players’ condition?
“I always think the same way, sometimes even in our championship there are many matches, but the fatigue is often mental, these guys now have muscles and they are machines. When there is a team that has many injured players it is always the team that has difficulties, that has the pressure and the rust of the lack of results. The conclusion is that I am convinced that we will see a ball that travels and that is going strong.”
Could it be Kean’s game?
“It’s possible that he could be part of the match, he’s good at keeping the ball on him, at making the mark and then waiting for the player to support him.”
Who can be the Sinner of our national team?
“It’s best to never make comparisons, a footballer who goes beyond this normal dribbling…Maldini gives me the impression of having an easy shot, the substance of being able to create something super easy and exclusive.”
What must he do as coach to forget Switzerland?
“Nothing or anyone makes me forget that defeat, not even qualifying for the World Cup. In some ways it’s also good to carry it with you a little, you have to remember that if you don’t do things right the stone is always around the corner.”