Torino President Urbano Cairo presents Italy's team under new Coach Giampiero Ventura: 'They'll be young and full of character'.
The official announcement that the former Granata Coach would take over Antonio Conte's role came with statements of appreciation by FIGC President Carlo Tavecchio, who defined him a 'football maestro'.
Torino President Urbano Cairo presents Italy's team under new Coach Giampiero Ventura: 'They'll be young and full of character'.
The official announcement that the former Granata Coach would take over Antonio Conte's role came with statements of appreciation by FIGC President Carlo Tavecchio, who defined him a 'football maestro'.
Cairo, interviewed by La Gazzetta dello Sport, used very similar terms to describe the 68-year-old.
“I'm honoured to have given the national team its Coach,” Cairo told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“He, an old man? Nonsense. He's a man of great energy, with the enthusiasm of a 40-year-old. In fact, he's a 40-year-old 'kid'!
“I've seen him work with his assistants for 10-12 consecutive hours before a game. He may have reached the most important football levels a little late, but that's exactly what makes him still hungry. Be confident that Ventura is a great choice.
“He knows how to immediately impress an identity on the teams that he teaches. He has game and personality. I'm expecting an aesthetically pleasing Italy, full of character and young players.
“Ventura can really develop youngsters. And he's a maestro tactically, too. From this point of view he'll be able to give a great contribution to the national team, too.
“I remember with what serenity he'd prepare the Europa League games. He told me that in Europe everyone was quite predictable tactically and we had the opportunity to surprise them.
“No wonder that we had a great Europa League run in 2014-15. At Bilbao we made history, only to crash out against Zenit [St Petersburg] after 180' minutes of substance, our away game mostly played without a man.”
Ventura will probably bring along much of his technical team, such as his right-hand-man Salvatore Sullo, goalkeeper trainer Giuseppe Zinetti and the athletic trainer Alessandro Innocenti.
“Sullo is the historical number two, a loyalist, Ventura's shadow. He's brilliant at preparing games, not least by video presentation.
“And he's important in the relationship with the players. He often resolves those cases in which the Coach doesn't want to get mixed up.
“Zinetti has always been with Ventura, he's almost his conscience. As for Innocenti, he's an implacable, determined and ferocious professor, the type that took lazier players and got them to work hard. No, I can't name names!
“My choice of Ventura? He was mentioned to me by our sporting director [Gianluca] Petrachi, who'd met him twice: as a player in Venice and as a sporting director in Pisa.
“I came across him, I liked him right away and in the space of five minutes we had an agreement.”