New Italy CT Giampiero Ventura thanks Antonio Conte for leaving him a squad “with a culture of hard work”.
After a Quarter-Final exit at Euro 2016, Conte has left the Azzurri to take over Chelsea, and his replacement was officially presented today.
“I’m happy to be here,” Ventura told a Press conference at Coverciano.
“But I’m above all proud to have been chosen to represent one of the most important footballing nations.
New Italy CT Giampiero Ventura thanks Antonio Conte for leaving him a squad “with a culture of hard work”.
After a Quarter-Final exit at Euro 2016, Conte has left the Azzurri to take over Chelsea, and his replacement was officially presented today.
“I’m happy to be here,” Ventura told a Press conference at Coverciano.
“But I’m above all proud to have been chosen to represent one of the most important footballing nations.
“I think President [Carlo] Tavecchio, in recent days he’s been very close to me but also Antonio Conte because he left me a team with awareness and a culture of hard work.
“These are the things that I’ve carried with me on my journey in football. It’s a bit of an advantage, I found I didn’t have much time so to have some sort of a foundation helps me.
“The Euros made us aware that, through organisation and awareness, solidity and sacrifice and through togetherness we can achieve important objectives.
“For those objectives we need everyone.”
Ventura was then asked about which style of play he is considering, and whether it will be different from his predecessor.
“Any style of play, if done right, will pay dividends. If it’s done wrong, it won’t. When you want to get a result you can’t rely on individuality or chance – you all have to push in the same direction.
“Conte’s football worked for a particular time, the players on the bench when [Marcello] Lippi won the World Cup were great names, the ones who went to the Euros still have to work to reach that level.
“Conte’s style was important to get results, but we’ll work to improve.
“The formation? Football gives you different things, now Italy can offer an infinite number of wingers – [Stephan] El Shaarawy, [Giacomo] Bonaventura… as many as you want.
“The 3-5-2 formation penalises wingers. Our first aim is to qualify for the World Cup, we need to have the patience for gradual growth, but it’d be a shame not to take advantage of this quality.”