Italy were knocked out of the EURO 2024 Round of 16 at the hands of Switzerland, and Football Italia brings you three things you didn’t see on TV.
Football Italia was among the accredited media at the Olympiastadion in Berlin on Saturday when they suffered a 2-0 loss and were, therefore, eliminated from the competition.
Luciano Spalletti and Gabriele Gravina have already held a press conference to explain what went wrong and announce that the CT will remain in charge at least until the 2026 World Cup.
Italy produced just one shot on target against the Swiss. But what did you miss by watching the match on TV?
Mateo Retegui
Switzerland scored twice and the Azzurri showed no reaction at all. At any point, they were dangerous or able to create trouble for their opponents. However, this view clashes with the players’ attitude, especially from those on the bench. Italy reserves tried to motivate their teammates on the pitch and one of them, Mateo Retegui, who was then introduced in the second half, was so eager to play that he didn’t even wear a tracksuit and watched the game from the touchline with his match jersey on almost as if Spalletti would introduce him from one moment to another in the first half.
Donnarumma
Surely, Gigio was the best Italy player in the tournament. He produced another couple of key saves against Switzerland after avoiding two expected goals in the group stage. When the Swiss took the lead in the first half through Bologna ace Remo Freuler, Gigio reproached his teammate Gianluca Mancini, telling him that he should not have defended deep inside the box. Gigio’s body language was louder than words, and he repeatedly pointed to Mancini the place he should have covered in central defence, closer to the edge of the box than deep inside. Gigio then led his teammates under the Azzurri sector after the final whistle. Some were reluctant to follow the captain, and not all players did so, while Gigio’s apology was rejected by the supporters in Berlin.
Zaccagni vs Freuler
Mattia Zaccagni was probably the only Italian player showing some sort of reaction on the pitch, although this time, he was not as decisive as against Croatia. Towards the final minutes of the game, the Lazio winger was fighting for the ball possession with Freuler. There was a tough shoulder-to-shoulder contact that none of them seemed to enjoy. Therefore, they briefly argued, then Zaccagni lightly hit his opponent with his shoulder and made a shush gesture. In all fairness, given the overall performance, it’s probably Italy who should remain silent this time.
Saw all of that. Here’s something everyone is failing to report on.
Di Lorenzo was the biggest culprite, the most glaring weakness and responsible for almost ALL the goals save for the one vs Albani.
He was skinning alive the whole Spain match with the goal coming from his side because he is slow and old, and useless. He watched the ball on the Modric goal, and all of Switzerland’s goals came from the right side of the pitch because they knew Di Slowrenzo was easy to exploit time and again. When Chiesa is playing deep, and recovering balls because Di Slowrenzo thinks he’s Camoranesi, and everyone can see it, even the Swiss coach said they would eat Italy alive if they play this way, why is Spalletti keeping him in? I guess there is some truth to the players selecting the formation on the team huh? Spalletti, you lost it. Go home. Quit now. Quit Now. Quit NOW.
Where was Lucateli, when we needed him
Italy would have better with Dominico Berardi. He’s a coach on the field, a scoring threat and gets back well to defend with good quickness. With him and Chiesa on the wings the field would have opened up. Berardi is the most complete Italian player with exceptional recognition and anticipation skill.