They went with little expectation of victory but few could have suspected how badly Italy would slump out of contention in Germany. Giancarlo Rinaldi gives his marks to Luciano Spalletti’s underperforming troops – and the coach himself.
At the very least it might have been a building block towards the next World Cup. Instead, the Azzurri came back from their European adventures with very little to be happy about. It looks like another rebuilding project will have to begin after four largely underwhelming displays this summer.
Gigio Donnarumma 8/10 – If there was any player to boost his reputation it was probably the big PSG goalkeeper. After many calling for him to be replaced he confirmed himself as one of his country’s few world class performers. Without him, their campaign might have been even worse. Guglielmo Vicario will have to wait.
Giovanni Di Lorenzo 3.5/10 – It was a painful competition for the Napoli man who has been at the centre of transfer speculation and looks to have lost his way. From one of the most solid and dependable right-backs in the game, he looked shell-shocked after being terrorised by Nico Williams. His days in the blue of his country might be approaching an end.
Federico Di Marco 4.5/10 – Off the back of a storming season with Inter, a lot more was expected of the flying wing-back. He threw away the first goal Italy conceded in the tournament and never really recovered his form. A shadow of the man who shone in both Serie A and Champions League.
Riccardo Calafiori 7/10 – Despite an own goal against Spain this was a coming of age event for the Bologna defender. He stepped up for his country as if he had played there forever and formed a fine pairing with Alessandro Bastoni. His absence in the vital knockout match with Switzerland was sorely felt.
Alessandro Bastoni 6.5/10 – His goal kick-started the comeback against Albania and he confirmed his qualities that should see him star for La Nazionale for many years to come. He looked sluggish in the final game – as did the whole team – but had been battling illness in order to even play.
Jorginho 5/10 – He gave Italy order and quality in their opening match but quickly got submerged as the pace of the clashes increased. Overrun against Spain and not very effective against Croatia, he sat out the final match entirely which seemed to indicate Spalletti will look elsewhere in future.
Nicolò Barella 6/10 – A lovely strike against Albania saves his blushes but he was another Inter star to look much poorer for his country. He battled through injury concerns to play and that may have had an effect as he was a shadow of himself against Switzerland. Still a player Italy should count on, though.
Davide Frattesi 5/10 – He came into the tournament as the most consistent goalscoring threat of the Spalletti era but his manager struggled to find the position to get the most out of him. It resulted in him playing a dwindling role where he struggled to affect the outcome of any match.
Lorenzo Pellegrini 5/10 – Given the number 10 shirt it was a chance for the Roma man to shine which he largely spurned. Some nice touches but he did not look anywhere near as influential as he should have been. Maybe a useful substitute going forward but made no case to be a regular starter.
Federico Chiesa 5/10 – A season of struggles with Juventus following serious injury continued for one of the stars of Euro 2020. There was the odd flash of what he can do but, like Frattesi, his coach struggled to find his best position. The hope is he can return to top form quickly.
Gianluca Scamacca 4/10 – He was the great goalscoring hope after some stunning strikes with Atalanta but he left all his form in Bergamo. Hesitant, uncertain and wild with the few finishing chances he had, this was a tournament to forget. The search for a striker continues.
Andrea Cambiaso 5/10 – A bit-part player, he avoided the worst condemnation by appearing pretty rarely. However, even when he did it was rarely influential and he will need to step up if he hopes to become the stalwart for his country that many would like him to become.
Bryan Cristante 4.5/10 – Another whose stock has fallen since the last Euros and he brought little to this competition. A start in the ill-fated Switzerland clash was largely ineffective and there must be better, younger options available to employ in future.
Mateo Retegui 5.5/10 – He showed the odd spark as understudy to Scamacca but it was not enough to suggest he was the answer to Italy’s goalscoring woes. Another who might be alright as a squad player but did not look like you would want him to be your mainstay.
Matteo Darmian 5/10 – He is versatile but it just meant he was not very impressive in a range of positions. Another Inter player who did not live up to his league form in the chances he got. Time to move on if Italy hope to move forward.
Michael Folorunsho No Vote – Impossible to judge on his few minutes against Albania late in the day. He deserved his call-up after a cracking campaign with Verona but we will need to see more of him to judge if this was a one-off competition for him.
Mattia Zaccagni 6.5/10 – He didn’t get much game time but he did deliver the most special moment of the Euros for Italy with his Alex Del Piero impersonation against Croatia. He showed a bit more zest than others against Switzerland too so will merit closer inspection in future.
Giacomo Raspadori 5/10 – Hard to judge on not a lot of football but another potential scoring hero who failed to fire. Only really saw significant game time against Croatia but he did little to suggest that he would have made a big difference had he started more matches.
Nicolò Fagioli 5/10 – It was a risk to select him and one which surely failed to pay off. No doubt he can be one for the future but asked to show his qualities against Switzerland he singularly failed to do so. Hopefully there are brighter times ahead as he gets back to full match sharpness.
Gianluca Mancini 4/10 – Kept on the sidelines until the knockout stages he only highlighted how badly Calafiori was missed. In a poor team performance he was one of the worst culprits as he constantly seemed to misjudge his interventions. Not one to depend upon, at least on this evidence.
Stephan El Shaarawy 4/10 – A surprise starter against Switzerland, he was hooked at half-time after failing to make an impact. The only real shock was that not more of the team was substituted along with him. His days as a great prospect seem long, long ago.
Luciano Spalletti 4/10 – It was not a great start for the new Italy boss at his first major competition. His only excuse can really be that he is still finding his feet. He now needs to learn pretty fast on the job or the World Cup in two years time could be a disaster or missed entirely.
Did not play, and probably glad of it, were Guglielmo Vicario, Alex Meret, Alessandro Buongiorno, Raoul Bellanova and Federico Gatti.
How does Spalletti get 4!
Champions tend to go out early. Germany won euro 96 and went out in the group stages 4 years later. Greece won euro 2004 and went out in the group stages 4 years later. Spain won Euro 2012 and went out in the 2nd round 4 years later. Portugal won Euro 2016 and went out in the 2nd round 4 years later and now Italy has done the same. Won Euro 2020 and now gone out in the 2nd round. Same with the world cup. France won the World Cup in 1998 and went out 4 years later in the 1st round. Italy won in 2006 and went out in the 1st round 4 years later. Spain won in 2010 and went out 4 years later in the 1st round. Germany won it in 2014 and went out 4 years later in the 1st round.
Fagioli and El shaaraway were better than Retegui!! Scamacca deserves no more than 2/10 all he did was hold up the ball then provide a horrendous lay off to no one. Retegui again pointless but maybe not quite as bad as scamacca so 4/10. El Shaaraway had a few runs down the wing against the swiss (more than any one else did) don’t know why he was taken off at half time. Spalletti 2/10 he managed to get them playing worse and worse each game, it was incredible!!
Blame Inter victims again.
Spalletti = 2/10
Not fair ratings.
On players.
They were told the position to play.
And in many cases it was not their regular positions..let’s be fair and say.
Spalletti Is. The problem.