It was the first day of the training camp at Coverciano for the National Team ahead of the glamorous friendlies against Argentina and England on Friday 23rd March at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester and Tuesday 27th March at Wembley Stadium in London. Kick-off times are 19:45 and 20:00 GMT respectively.
Luigi Di Biagio will lead the team for the two matches and he attended the usual press conference at the start of the week together with FIGC Extraordinary Vice-Commissioner Alessandro Costacurta and Team Manager Gabriele Oriali. “The result is important but it has to stem from what we do on the pitch,” began Di Biagio. “The first aim is to play well and impose our style of play, if you play well, then in ten matches you’ll end up winning eight of them. For me, playing well means having the courage to get into the other team’s half regardless of the quality of the team that you’re taking on. It means sending the full-backs up to attack, pressing the opponents high and not being afraid to take on the best players. This is a cohesive group made up of players that I’ve seen develop. We need to start again with the right conviction straight away. We’re not at the level of the world’s strongest National Teams but neither are we among the worst.”
With his first squad selection, Di Biagio confirmed that he’s payed attention to the players that he coached first with the Under-20 National and then the Under-21 side. It was therefore no surprise to see Federico Chiesa and Patrick Cutrone among the nine out of 13 young players who have made their Azzurri debut in the past two years. “With a bit of patience, we can rebuild an important team, there are lots of young players and they’re developing. I called up Cutrone because of his performances, his enthusiasm and for the fact that he’s moved through all the youth teams starting from Under-15 level and he knows exactly what I ask of him. Then, there are his goals which never hurt. Chiesa is ready to be here permanently, but this will depend on what happens in the league and it will depend on him above all considering what he shows in training and in matches.”
Four months on from defeat in the World Cup play-off to Sweden, Gigi Buffon is back to offer his experience to the team. “Gigi is also here for his presence but he’s also here to play, help me and bring extra value on and off the pitch.”
The lack of a call-up for Balotelli doesn’t mean that the door is closed entirely. “I’ll keep following him and we’ll see what happens in the next months. Scoring goals is very important for forwards by determined by their performances. I made my evaluations and took a decision for the good of the team.”
Ten days ago, Coverciano was where the body of Davide Astori was held in state and the pain following the sudden passing of the Viola captain still lingers in the air. “It’s a strange thing but we have to look to normalise things otherwise it will become too devastating. I didn’t know Davide that well like many of the people here did, but it was enough to see from the little that I did know what kind of person he was.”
The press conference was then brought a close by Gabriele Oriali: “Unfortunately, the failure to qualify for the World Cup is a stain that is still there but we now have two big matches waiting for us and whenever the National Team plays, you cannot talk about friendlies. Especially not when you’re going to play two teams like Argentina and England.”
Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Gianluigi Donnarumma (Milan), Mattia Perin (Genoa);
Defenders: Leonardo Bonucci (Milan), Matteo Darmian (Manchester United), Mattia De Sciglio (Juventus), Gian Marco Ferrari (Sampdoria), Alessandro Florenzi (Roma), Angelo Obinze Ogbonna (West Ham), Daniele Rugani (Juventus), Leonardo Spinazzola (Atalanta), Davide Zappacosta (Chelsea);
Midfielders: Giacomo Bonaventura (Milan), Bryan Cristante (Atalanta), Roberto Gagliardini (Inter), Jorge Luiz Frello Jorginho (Napoli), Marco Parolo (Lazio), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), Marco Verratti (Paris Saint Germain);
Forwards: Andrea Belotti (Torino), Antonio Candreva (Inter), Federico Chiesa (Fiorentina), Patrick Cutrone (Milan), Ciro Immobile (Lazio), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Simone Verdi (Bologna).
Staff – Coach: Luigi Di Biagio; Assistant Coaches: Massimo Mutarelli and Carmine Nunziata; National Youth Teams Co-Ordinator: Maurizio Viscidi; Fitness Coaches: Vito Azzone and Giovanni Brignardello; Goalkeeping Coaches: Antonio Chimenti and Gianluca Spinelli; Match Analyst: ntonio Gagliardi e Filippo Lorenzon; FIGC Doctors: Enrico Castellacci and Carmine Costabile; Masseurs/Physios: Emanuele Randelli, Fabrizio Scalzi, Maurizio Fagorzi, Alfonso Casano; Osteopath: Walter Martinelli.
The Schedule
Monday 19th March
13:00 Coach’s press conference
15:00 Training (Open to media for the first 15 minutes)
Tuesday 20th March
10:00 Training (CLOSED)
13:30 Press conference (players)
15:30 Training (Open to media for the first 15 minutes)
Wednesday 21st March
10:00 Training (CLOSED)
13:30 Press Conference (Players)
15:30 Training (Open to the media for the first 15 minutes)
Thursday 22nd March
10:00 Training MD-1 (Closed)
16:45 Charter flight from Florence to Manchester
18:15 GMT Arrive in Manchester e trasferimento all’ Etihad Stadium
19:00 GMT. Pitch inspection**
19:15 GMT Press conference MD-1 (Coach and one player)**
Friday 23rd March
19.00 GMT ARGENTINA vs. ITALY Referee: Martin Atkinson (ENG); Ass.1: Lee Betts (ENG); Ass.2: Constantine Hatzidakis (ENG) ; Fourth Official.: Craig Pawson (ENG)
To follow Post-match media activities, return to hotel
Saturday 24th March
11:00 GMT Training at MCFC Sport Centre (Closed)
Sunday 25th March
10:00 GMT Press conference (players)**
11:00 GMT Training at MCFC Sport Centre (Open to the media for the first 15 minutes)**
Monday 26th March
10:30 GMT Training at MCFC Sport Centre (Closed)
17:30 GMT Charter flight from Manchester to London Luton
18:30 GMT Scheduled arrival at Luton and transfer to Wembley Stadium
19:30 GMT Pitch inspection**
19:45 GMT Press conference MD-1 (Coach and one player)**
Tuesday 27th March
20:00 England vs. Italy
Post-match media activity and return to Italy to follow
Note
** Reserved to accredited media for the Argentina and England matches.
Source: figc.it