Arrigo Sacchi doesn’t blame Luciano Spalletti for Italy’s draw against North Macedonia but warns the Azzurri coach that he ‘doesn’t have time’ to change the players’ mentality.
Sacchi commented on Italy’s 1-1 draw in Skopje in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“Spalletti is not to blame for this draw, but the reality is that Italy, once again, managed to make North Macedonia great and this is unacceptable,” said the ex-Milan and Italy boss.
“Strikers and midfielders did not move well, so defenders touched the ball too many times in the build-up before making short passes. There were too many long balls and no filter in midfield, as proved by the four of five counter-attacks we faced.
“There were no ideas, no playing style,” continued Sacchi.
“The problem is that it takes time to make the mechanism work and I know by experience that there is no time with the national team.
“After the opener, we only thought about defending and it’s not what should have been done. Unfortunately, it’s a fair result.”
Contrary to Italian sports papers, Sacchi did not blame Gigio Donnarumma for North Macedonia’s equaliser.
“He wasn’t great, but our opponents had been playing close to our goal for 10 minutes,” Sacchi noted.
Italy will face Ukraine at San Siro on Tuesday, but what will Spalletti need as Italy’s coach in the long run?
“He must choose reliable players who are in sync with his ideas, the target is to build a team of collective smartness,” argued Sacchi.
“Luciano is a great coach, but not a magician. We can’t expect him to work miracles. However, I feel I can give him advice. He has taken charge of a team that probably was not up to the task. He didn’t know all the players’ characters. It is necessary to pick reliable elements to create a solid group as he did at Napoli. A CT has no time to change the players’ mentality, he must pick available men who are willing to put his ideas into practice.”