TMW Radio
Fabrizio Ponciroli spoke during today’s appointment with L’Editoriale on the frequencies of TMW Radio. These are his words:
Which national team did you see yesterday?
“Yesterday, nervousness was through the roof, after the first 40 minutes everything seemed already set, then instead Pellegrini, but not only through his fault, made a mess. For me it’s a very serious mistake, after the expulsion I was quite certain that the match would change. The draw in the end is a good result, at a certain point I was convinced that Belgium could bury us. Having said that it’s a mediocre team, but we fell apart and it’s a miracle to have brought home the 2-2.”
Are there few blue wingers around?
“I really liked the national team before the expulsion. We have wingers who put in quality balls, the midfielders always come in and if Retegui keeps up this pace he does very well. It seems like a national team that is doing well, I have to congratulate Dimarco for how he answered some questions. He has been proving that he has been a top-class player for years, he is one of the best wingers in Europe and I don’t think he should envy Calhanoglu. We must never fall into praising certain players too much, there are some national team players who are of an excellent level. We have an atavistic problem which is the striker, perhaps with Retegui we have found someone who knows what to do up front. He’s not a champion, but he knows what to do. The problem that Spalletti must solve is someone who knows how to play behind Retegui, who cannot be Pellegrini. He can’t play in that role, he doesn’t have the mental strength to handle that role.”
Why is there so much insistence on Pellegrini when different choices could be made?
“In my opinion because you don’t have many alternatives, with the double striker you can’t play and you’re adapting someone to that role. The national team shirt is heavy, it seems to me that Pellegrini is experiencing a difficult moment. He wasn’t even doing badly until the expulsion, but at certain levels such an intervention is serious. Many people talk about Maldini, but he was born practically yesterday and scored perhaps five goals in Serie A. We killed all the second strikers, in that role we have a deficit. When we start again we are fantastic, Frattesi when he comes on is a spectacle, the defense is good even if I can’t understand why Di Lorenzo is always confirmed and this is a doubt that remains. All in all it’s not a bad national team, but we don’t have any champions and we don’t have a second striker who can make the difference. We must then make the premise that we are playing the Nations League that no one gives a damn about. It’s always better than a friendly, but let’s take it easy.”
Is the national team’s problem linked to the choices of the coaches or to the quality available?
“I believe it is a question of generational quality, we get up to a certain point but no further. We made a great impression against France, but just looking at the two squads is enough to understand how far behind we are. Argentina has a squad, Spain is coming along very well. We can get up to a certain point with our resources and with a group that believes in it. Everyone sacrificed themselves to bring home the equalizer, this is the thing I liked the most. We lack that certainty of the champions, the only one is Donnarumma with Calafiori and Ricci who can become them. Dimarco and Cambiaso are two excellent wingers, but then we lack quality up front. Montella didn’t play for the national team, now with Italy he would score three goals a game. We’re missing a champion up front, unfortunately the big teams have them.”
What are your thoughts on the investigation into crime on the curves?
“This investigation was inevitable, it was quite obvious that there was something wrong. Too much time has passed, let’s think about Juventus’ dispute with the curve, it’s an investigation that we knew would come. The important thing is to always do things clearly, remembering that the ultras are the soul of football. Without the ultras there is no live football, then we need to define the term ultras. An ultras is someone who puts his team first, the rest is crime. Whoever puts their soul into the stadium is fundamental, this is ultras. The involvement of companies is not easy to understand. I believe it is not easy for those who live in a society to avoid certain characters. You are very conditioned by these criminals who I don’t want to define as ultras, it’s not easy to say ok, I don’t care and I don’t answer to anyone. It’s not that simple, you have to experience these people in everyday life, you find them outside the stadium, outside training sessions and it’s not that simple. What I am saying is that this investigation came very late, Agnelli was the first to try to say enough and was left alone. This doesn’t mean he didn’t make mistakes, but he noticed this detail. Then maybe Juve went too far, but they had identified the problem. Everyone has finally gotten there, now the important thing is to get to the conclusion. We need to find a way to eliminate crime from the curves, is it possible? I don’t know.”