FIGC President Gabriele Gravina is fired up at San Siro for the Nations League clash with Portugal. “The Nazionale must write a new story of youngsters.”
It kicks off at 19.45 GMT, click here for the line-ups and Liveblog.
“Italian football must write many more stories,” the new Federation chief told Sky Sport Italia.
FIGC President Gabriele Gravina is fired up at San Siro for the Nations League clash with Portugal. “The Nazionale must write a new story of youngsters.”
It kicks off at 19.45 GMT, click here for the line-ups and Liveblog.
“Italian football must write many more stories,” the new Federation chief told Sky Sport Italia.
“My emotions this evening come from an extraordinary event and a stadium that has given so much support to the Azzurri over the years.
“I am happy to share my debut with Gigi Riva, who in 1987 had his first appearance as a director of the Italian Federation against Portugal.”
Coach Roberto Mancini is pushing to lower the average age of the squad, as in this evening’s starting XI, only Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci are over 30.
“This Nazionale must write a new story, that of the youngsters, of the lads coming through, and a story we all want to be a part of. I like this approach.
“Clearly, the work must be very intense, because we know that when working with young people, you need patience and the ability to wait.”
Gravina also spoke to Rai Sport and gave a similar description of the situation within the Nazionale.
“There is so much enthusiasm, desire to be reborn and re-emerge. Once again, Milan is the launchpad for us to aim high. We must give our fans a new story to enjoy.
“Mancini is a great architect of this story we must put together with these young players, with patience, intelligence and wisdom. I think we can bring home a great result.
“The only way forward is to focus on youth, as we can build a new sporting project, otherwise we risk reliving more bitter and disappointing nights.
“We can only hope that we’ll be able to challenge with the top nations, but it is not right to make promises. We do believe we’ve got what it takes to achieve this and we can only try to create a situation making it easier for this team to flourish.”