Things spotted in Spalletti’s first Italy training session: Chiesa, Tonali, Zaniolo and more

Luciano Spalletti worked on a 4-3-3 formation during his first training session as Italy’s coach. Here’s what we spotted at Coverciano today.

A new era has begun for the Azzurri as new coach Spalletti took his first training session at Coverciano, Florence, on Monday. Football Italia was among the accredited media. The training session started with a speech from the ex-Napoli boss who gathered his lads on the main pitch.

Spalletti had already spoken to the team in the morning as revealed by new Delegation Chief Gigi Buffon during his unveiling press conference which he had taken ahead of Monday’s training session. Gigi then watched the Azzurri work under Spalletti from the touchline.

After a quick warm-up under the Florentine sun, Spalletti started working on pressing highlighting that the Azzurri would often need to cover a “hole” between central defence and midfield. The Certaldo-born coach worked on three specific situations: pressing from goal-kick, throw-in and goalkeepers’ long ball. Once the attacking team recovered possession, the defending side stopped chasing the ball allowing strikers and midfielders to shoot. There was only one goalkeeper during these drills, Lazio‘s Ivan Provedel, while Gigio Donnarumma, Guglielmo Vicario and Alex Meret worked separately with goalkeeper trainers.

The first two teams formed by Spalletti were:

Team 1: Darmian, Casale, Bastoni, Spinazzola; Frattesi, Cristante, Pessina; Chiesa, Retegui, Politano.

Team 2: Di Lorenzo, Romagnoli, Mancini, Biraghi; Barella, Locatelli, Tonali; Gnonto, Raspadori, Zaniolo.

Spalletti shuffled the teams going forward, involving Nicolò Zaniolo for Matteo Politano (right wing), Giorgio Scalvini for Nicolò Casale (central defence), Federico Dimarco for Leonardo Spinazzola (left-back) and Lorenzo Pellegrini for Matteo Pessina (central midfield).

Spalletti’s staff had also drawn a squared pitch in the middle of the main field and some dotted lines between the halfway line and the penalty area. The CT didn’t really use these today but will probably do so in the next few days when only the opening 15 minutes of Italy’s training sessions will be open to the media.

During the second part of today’s work at Coverciano, Spalletti kept 10 outfield players on the pitch, plus Vicario and Meret alternating in goal.

This second part was more focused on ball possession in attack and late runs from strikers and midfielders with three mannequins used as opposing central defenders. The players on the pitch were Matteo Pessina, Bryan Cristante, Davide Frattesi, Wilfried Gnonto, Giacomo Raspadori, Zaniolo, Sandro Tonali, Pellegrini, Immobile, Zaccagni and Politano.

After two or three consecutive attacks, Spalletti would stop the play and explain some movements he expected to see, then the training session resumed. It ended after more than one hour with Spalletti chatting to his ex-Napoli keeper Meret and then with some of his staff members.

Italy’s preparation for Saturday’s away game at North Macedonia continues on Tuesday with a player’s press conference and another training session in the late afternoon.

@lorebetto