Luciano Spalletti said Federico Chiesa can play ‘everywhere’, while Giacomo Bonaventura has even more quality than Jude Bellingham, but Gianluca Scamacca is ‘a bit lazy.’ Here are five talking points from his first Euro 2024 press conference.
Italy start training in Coverciano on Friday with 28 players available. Only Scamacca and Giorgio Scalvini are still not in Florence as their Atalanta side are preparing for the last, and meaningless, Serie A game of the season against Fiorentina.
Football Italia was among the accredited media at the Azzurri training centre today and followed Spalletti’s first press conference live.
The Azzurri CT said many interesting things about his tactical approach and the attitude he expects from the players, but most importantly, he explained very clearly why he made certain decisions.
Fagioli in Locatelli and Bonaventura out
One of the most debated was why he called Juventus midfielder Nicolò Fagioli rather than his teammate Manuel Locatelli, especially considering that Fagioli has just returned from a seven-month ban for gambling. Spalletti’s explanation was very clear.
“First of all, it’s a technical choice,” the CT explained.
“Fagioli has that quality and creativity and we want to have as many things as possible to keep the ball on the pitch. The field will say if we made the right decision. On a personal level, humanly, the lad said beautiful things. I talked to him on the day of the Coppa Italia Final in Rome and luckily Juventus were there, so I spent time with him, and he made a good impression on me.
“If we evaluate his sins, I think he deserves a bit of understanding. He didn’t bet on his things. He bet because he could not defend himself from this temptation, but it was purely a technical choice.
“Locatelli is a true professional with exceptional defensive qualities. He has a good foot when it comes to doing certain things, but he is too conservative for how the role is evolving. But he will be back here and I apologise again for not calling him.”
There is more about players who didn’t make the squad. Spalletti said only a few months ago that Bonaventura was “Italy’s Bellingham”, but the Fiorentina star is not part of the Euro 2024 squad.
“To me, he has even more things than Bellingham,” the coach insisted.
“In terms of quality and technically. I will always stand by him. I will always stand by my players. Of course, we’ve all seen Bellingham’s physical and mental strength. Bonaventura has technical quality, but I think he was a bit tired and I may need something different. He remains part of this group.”
‘Lazy’ Scamacca
The Atalanta star was not included in the team for international friendlies in March, but Spalletti is delighted with his development in Bergamo. “I think Gasperini worked on him and has built something different. He’s been working with him daily, so it’s easier. Italians are accustomed to working hard. In some ways, I didn’t like Scamacca so this is why I didn’t call him in March,” the CT explained.
It is fair to expect that the coach will use the carrot and the stick with the ex-Sassuolo and West Ham star.
“If one doesn’t give more than his all, it’s hard to meet the best. However, he has shown improvement, goals, and consistency, and I think Atalanta benefits from it, too,” continued Spalletti.
“Scamacca has a bit of everything, but he is a bit lazy. Perhaps he has changed, but we are all happy to see what he can offer us. I am the first one to be happy with his performances.”
Chiesa’s role
Spalletti was asked a question about wingers and attacking players and said something very interesting about Chiesa: “He knows how to play everywhere. He’s a player who has that spark that sometimes you don’t know where it’s coming from. He can play on the right, but he can also stay in the middle, even if he prefers to play wide. Chiesa must be isolated; he must not have too many players around him because it is in the space and in one-on-one situations that he really shows his quality.” This means the Juventus star will be given the freedom to float around in the final third and find the best position to hurt opponents. He could play as a right-winger or left-winger. Regardless of Italy’s system he could be the most important outfield player in Germany.
Tactical approach and mentality
Spalletti practically confirmed that he had planned to use a three-man defence with Acerbi, Bastoni and Darmian, but with Acerbi’s injury, he will have to change his plans. “We lose an experienced player, who was part of a defensive block (Inter) that could give us something,” said the CT.
As for the system, Italy “don’t want something rigid, we want to be quite fluid to give freedom to our talented players and be organised at the same time,” said the coach.
“We want to know how to do all things. Here at Coverciano, they are teaching us that there are no longer static systems. We’ll play against teams that use 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3, but we can’t have a numerical disadvantage in midfield. We will try to defend with four men and build up with three. The best teams know how to do this and be unpredictable.”
Spalletti feels the team’s attitude will be crucial too, so he has also prepared a playroom where footballers can spend time together rather than playing Playstation in their rooms.
“We must forget that we are wealthy and have everything available. Sometimes, we must tell our children certain things to avoid certain vices. This can be a way to spend time. We must be prepared to do our best because we won’t be at fault if things don’t go well. It would mean we’ve met someone who is better than us. My heart is already beating thinking about what we will experience. I want to see happy people. We want people to be satisfied when we return and we want to touch this emotion.
“I told the team today that we had to show the pride of wearing this shirt. We must show that we are privileged and try to fight together. A big champion we have, Buffon, also gave a speech revealing one thing that happened to him during the World Cup. If he wants, he will tell you what he said.” Perhaps Gigi was following the press conference alongside reporters but didn’t reveal what he had told Italy players.
Captain
Last but not least, Spalletti confirmed Donnarumma would be the Azzurri captain in Germany. “It remains Donnarumma; then we’ll evaluate it day by day. For now, it’s Donnarumma,” he said. Ciro Immobile was Spalletti’s first captain in September 2023, but the Lazio striker is not part of the 30-man squad. Gigio, on the other hand, has captained Italy six times in eight games under Spalletti, including a 2-1 win over Ukraine at San Siro, where he had to face boos from the home fans supporting Milan. Spalletti already praised Donnarumma’s attitude after that match so today’s announcement it’s unsurprising.