Giampiero Ventura has appeared to take a dig at Antonio Conte as his Italy predecessor “left us with one of the oldest squads in the last 150 years”.
Ventura’s squad for upcoming games against Germany and Liechtenstein includes plenty of young Italians, while he has instructed Under-21 personnel to train with the seniors, and the CT hinted Conte could have done more to nuture the Azzurri’s next generation.
Giampiero Ventura has appeared to take a dig at Antonio Conte as his Italy predecessor “left us with one of the oldest squads in the last 150 years”.
Ventura’s squad for upcoming games against Germany and Liechtenstein includes plenty of young Italians, while he has instructed Under-21 personnel to train with the seniors, and the CT hinted Conte could have done more to nuture the Azzurri’s next generation.
“Barzagli, Chiellini and Marchisio? There have been many withdrawals, we also would’ve picked [Simone] Verdi as he was doing very well,” the Coach explained at a Press conference.
“The road to change from the recent past has been accelerated. I picked an enlarged squad, now I want to start laying the foundations and see what happens.
“On our young players, I’ve said before that the national team at the European Championship left us one of our oldest squads in the last 150 years.
“Fate has it that there’s now the opportunity of accelerating that process. It’s a historic moment, not exceptional in terms of quality but because so many youngsters are blossoming.
“[Lorenzo] Pellegrini, [Mattia] Caldara and [Andrea] Conti are here so we can see if they’re ready, but they must get going quickly.
“Maybe a year ago, [Roberto] Gagliardini would’ve dreamt of being here, but he’s earned everything on the pitch. Now we have to see if he’s ready.
“Having called up these wide players, we’ll go with a 4-2-4 or 3-5-2.
“I hope to make the most out of these four days. Those who play for Sassuolo have played in a 4-2-4 and did so with different concepts.
“In this context, [Domenico] Berardi and [Simone] Verdi would’ve been called up. Which formation we’ll play will be decided on the pitch.
“Antonelli is the only experienced left-back around. I couldn’t send to slaughter a youngster like Barreca, who is nonetheless having a very good season.”