Luciano Spalletti is delighted with the performance his Italy players put in against France in the Nations League on Friday, and feels that the squad have learned to play more collectively in the absence of a naturally-gifted creator like Roberto Baggio, Alessandro Del Piero or Francesco Totti in the past.
The CT sat down alongside Samuele Ricci for his customary pre-match press conference ahead of Monday’s Nations League clash against Israel.
Spalletti on Italy spirit, lack of creators and collective solutions
Spalletti began by confirming there will be some changes to his line-up on Monday, largely due to fatigue. Riccardo Calafiori and Lorenzo Pellegrini, who both started against France, have since returned to their domestic clubs.
“It’s difficult to put the same team out as Friday, it’s not possible to get over the fatigue after just two days. Let’s see how the guys are, but it’s not unusual to change three, four, five players.”
Spalletti gave his opinions on Italy’s place among the elite footballing nations in the world. He feels like the Azzurri will always have top quality players to choose from, even if they lack a star forward in the current era.
“I hear conflicting conversations about us as a national team. I always start with my own thoughts. A nation like Italy will always have 20 players to make up a strong team. That is an assumption that will always be there, regardless of the era.
“You have to be good at understanding the moments, for example, we don’t currently have a technically-gifted thoroughbred at the moment, we don’t have a Baggio, Del Piero or Totti. But, we have lots of guys who know how to do lots of different things, who know how to adapt. It’s a football of feeling and sacrifice.
“These things make a difference, we become better at knowing how to do things collectively, taking on team responsibilities. On Friday we were more than just a team, we were brothers who came together as a team and that is the key to solving lots of difficulties.”
Spalletti on Tonali, Bastoni and Frattesi availability
Inter defender Alessandro Bastoni is set to start again on Monday, while Davide Frattesi will have further assessments following his second-half withdrawal against Israel.
“Bastoni will play tomorrow, because it becomes tricky taking both him and Calafiori out of the team. He has the most experience, he brings things to the table that can help the whole team.
“Frattesi will be evaluated in today’s training, but he says he is fine and good to go. He was substituted earlier than planned, to avoid any unnecessary dangers. We need to see after a bit of training.”
Spalletti was asked how pleased he was to welcome Sandro Tonali back to the group. He responded with a glowing character reference.
“We were ready to welcome him with open arms. He’s an important player for us given his qualities. Now that he’s here, we’ve seen a new Tonali, one that’s eager to show his quality as a footballer, a Tonali who has the ability to help everyone on the pitch because he knows how to do everything.
“His teammates love him so much, having him back in the changing room was a source of happiness for the other guys, too.
What Spalletti has changed after EURO 2024
Spalletti provided an in-depth analysis of the changes he has seen compared to the summer at EURO 2024. He is happy to admit when mistakes have been made.
“I tried to be different, because what I had been doing before was wrong. We have to know how to acknowledge what we have done, how to justify our reasoning. I have changed some things, now. I’ve seen a cohesive, compact group right away.
“The difference was probably made by the number of players we brought in. The decision to leave some players out in the past had weighed on my mind.”
Spalletti feels Italy have a combination of Italian, Spanish and English philosophies about their current group.
“We add the possibility of using a few different qualities on the pitch. Everyone has adapted so they can do a bit of everything and we have had to fuse several different footballing ideas together on the pitch.
“Sometimes we pressed high, other times it was a low block, returning to the style that has defined us in the past. But other times we maintained possession in the middle of the pitch, bringing together the philosophies of several different teams.
“Other times we changed the game to focus on the physicality of our strikers, like England did. There is a bit of Italian inspiration, a bit of Spanish, a bit of English.
“The stats say 53% possession for them and 47% for us, it wasn’t easy. We often had to switch from one flank to another thanks to our amazing quality, like with Dimarco and Tonali for that goal. That was a move that started with the goalkeeper.
“We were always compact, united, it seemed like a band of brothers to me. Everyone knew how to do their job, and nobody had to be carried by their teammates.
“For Frattesi’s goal, Retegui manipulated the ball perfectly between the two defenders, obviously Frattesi showed some of his best movement. We saw some quality moves, we showed that we are up for it in every part of the game.”
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