Italy midfielder Davide Frattesi warns that Spain are ‘more modern’ but Italy will have ‘more space’ than against Albania on Thursday.
Inter and Italy midfielder Frattesi addresses the media at a press conference from Italy’s training base in Iserlohn today, Monday, June 17, 2024. Football Italia was among the accredited media.
Frattesi played the whole 90 minutes in Dortmund seeing his Inter teammates Alessandro Bastoni and Nicolò Barella get their names on the scoresheet and inspire Italy’s win.
During the match, Luciano Spalletti gave many instructions to the Inter star, so what did the coach expect from him?
“He wanted me to get out of the traffic in central midfield. Drop deeper to get the ball and play a little bit wider,” said Frattesi.
“It’s positive because he trusts me. Obviously, the coach is the one who has the best view of the game. From the pitch, you may not realise what’s the best position, so it’s good to get his advice.”
Italy’s next game is against Spain and Frattesi expects a very different match from the opening one against Albania.
“There will be more space, but we’ll want to keep possession,” he said.
“Individually, Spain are better than us, so we have to put the Italian spirit on the pitch. We must fight hard because we may struggle if we try to win every one-v-one duel. We’ll need our spirit of sacrifice to put in a great performance.”
Quite surprisingly, Spain didn’t win the ball possession on their debut against Croatia last week.
“I think that every game must be contextualised,” explained Frattesi.
“When you win 3-0, you don’t want to concede and you are not really interested in the ball possession. It’s a more modern version of Spain. They no longer have those three legends in the middle of the park, so it’s a more modern version and I don’t know if this is an advantage.
“I think we’ll have less possession than against Albania, so we’ll surely need to be more focused defensively. There will probably be more space because Albania sat back for nearly 90 minutes. We must make the most of the chances we create through our playing style.”
Frattesi also said that Rodri is currently the “best midfielder in the world” and seemed confident that his friend Scamacca would soon find the net for the Azzurri.
“Over the last three months, Scamacca has proved that he can score at any moment. He still hasn’t had the right chance [with Italy], but when he’ll have one I am sure he’ll make the most of it.”
Frattesi was not a regular starter at Inter in 2023-24 but was still able to score eight goals and provide seven assists in 43 appearances. Four of his teammates are also part of the Azzurri squad.
“It’s never easy to adapt to a new team, especially one that reached the Champions League Final, so I think Simone Inzaghi’s management was right,” said Frattesi.
“Having spent a year together is surely helpful. Sometimes, you don’t even need to talk; there’s a click, like with Scamacca. It is something that happens naturally.”
What are the differences between his tasks at Inter and Italy?
“It changes defensively; I must sit deeper [with Italy]. In attack, it’s quite similar. Here we don’t have two strikers—we have just one—but two wingers create space like the two strikers at Inter. In attack, it’s the same; in defence, I drop a little bit more down.”
Regardless of his Inter teammates, Frattesi is building a solid relationship with many other Italy players.
“We spend most of our free time in a playroom with a playstation, ping pong, pool table, and a flipper. After dinner, we spend most of our time there, and it’s positive because that’s where you build a group. It is the group that brings you until the end.”
Frattesi said that he became more intimate with Stephan El Shaarawy thanks to ping-pong matches, while Lorenzo Pellegrini and Alessandro Bastoni are the best pool table players.
Lastly, the ex-Sassuolo man revealed his role models for the central midfielder role.
“Simone Perrotta and Claudio Marchisio more recently. These are the two players I look to sometimes to understand the best position on the pitch.”