The technical commissioner of Italy Luciano Spalletti he spoke at a press conference on the eve of the Nations League match against Belgium. These are his words.
The commemoration ceremony for the Heysel victims?
“May 29th 1985 must remain in everyone’s memory, we must carry it with us, we owe it to the families to ensure that things like this never happen again. Sometimes in football there are such sad moments, they must never happen again and we must make it clear to everyone who will be at the stadium, a place to have fun and meet other people.”
As a footballer, what memories do you have?
“I remember very well, there must have been happiness in following such an important match. Then there was that devastating effect for football, it is a memory that is still alive that we must use correctly for what is the beauty of this sport and for what it will be the future of this sport.”
Can Barella play in the attacking midfield without Pellegrini?
“We need a player who knows how to link the midfield with the team’s counterattacks, who knows how to exchange positions and who has offensive skills. Barella has a bit of all this. We were expecting him and he will probably be on the pitch.”
With Donnarumma banned, can Vicario play?
“Donnarumma plays tomorrow. We need to trust our players and know that even in a moment where something could happen they will know how to behave well in the face of tension.”
In the first leg Italy played aggressively. Will you play for a draw tomorrow?
“No, changing the mentality of the players at this moment would be dangerous. So we will try to repeat what the team did in these Nations League matches. The attitude was perfect and we will try to follow up on this behaviour.”
Lukaku is back, but there will be many absent in Belgium…
“Belgium has many champions to choose from who play in important clubs. It doesn’t matter if someone is missing, they will always be very strong. Lukaku is a particularly strong player and he will be a threat to defend ourselves from correctly. We have to get used to playing against players top and have the same attitude.”
How will Belgium exploit Lukaku’s qualities?
“To take advantage of Lukaku’s characteristics, they will try to put him in a position to be able to take the best. It is known that he is good at crosses from the back and in situations in which he has the ball on him in which he can unload. He has this quality that can make every player playable. the ball, preventive measures on this player will be fundamental for us. It will be the most difficult moment, when they recover the ball they will immediately go to him who is good and clean in making the balls playable for his teammates.”
Can Rovella start from the beginning? What are the objectives for these last two races of 2024?
“We pay attention to who does well, both Rovella and Locatelli are playing really interesting football. Their characteristic is that they are good at winning the ball back, but they have also been good at growing in other aspects. When they say there is a lack of talent It’s true a little, but if we can dilute it for all the other players it becomes better. Locatelli is a serious boy, an exceptional professional, when I called him his eyes shone and these are very important answers because they want to do well and are attached to this. shirt. Not I called him before because I see things that I didn’t see before, I don’t know if it depended only on him or also on his coach who I think is very good. It will be important to play well and the result, it doesn’t matter who will play between the two because they are both very well these last few training sessions I have seen even more interesting things, whatever choice is made will be the correct one.”
Is the module change the only reason behind the change in results compared to the European Championship?
“We have the possibility of being as clear as possible, of choosing players who have exceptional motivations, that there is a desire to receive great pleasure from wearing this shirt regardless of whether you go on the pitch or not. I have I tried to make correct choices based on my experiences and knowledge. You underlined it well: my behavior was probably not correct for the quality options I had available, both in the choices of elements and in the type of materials. management that I had done. Then the boys put their own spin on it there are different behaviors, there are few fixed positions on the pitch. It’s increasingly difficult to be a team and show off their qualities, they know how to do it well.”
How do you see Barella and Frattesi on the pitch?
“It changes little… We went looking for players who have the quality of knowing how to play in multiple positions on the pitch. In my opinion, for what I ask of the attacking midfielder, Barella is more so and Frattesi is more of a midfielder. I repeat for my requests. Frattesi is certainly very good at fitting in, but then you want someone to come and play as a midfielder every now and then, so it’s a long way to get to the goal and so maybe it’s better to let him play as a midfielder.”