E’ iniziata la preparazione della Nazionale Under 21, che si è radunata questa mattina a Roma in vista del doppio impegno nelle qualificazioni europee venerdì allo ‘Stadion Karadjordje’ di Novi Sad contro la Serbia (ore 18.30) e martedì 17 contro la Lituania allo stadio ‘T. Patini’ di Castel di Sangro (ore 17).

Il tecnico Luigi Di Biagio ha dovuto rinunciare al difensore del Cagliari Nicola Murru, giunto in ritiro infortunato, e al suo posto ha convocato il difensore del Novara Cristian Dell’Orco, alla sua prima chiamata con l’Under 21.

Intanto dal ritiro della Nazionale il capitano Marco Benassi ha parlato del match con la Serbia: “Sappiamo che sono forti – ha dichiarato il centrocampista del Torino in un’intervista esclusiva a VivoAzzurro.it (per leggera tutta l’intervista clicca qui) –  li conosciamo già dallo scorso anno. Non mollano mai e dovremo riuscire a fare ciò che stiamo provando in allenamento, mettendoci la giusta cattiveria agonistica”.

L’elenco dei convocati

Portieri: Alessio Cragno (Cagliari), Gianluigi Donnarumma (Milan), Simone Scuffet (Como);
Difensori: Antonio Barreca (Cagliari), Davide Calabria (Milan), Mattia Caldara (Cesena), Andrea Conti (Atalanta), Cristian Dell’Orco (Novara), Alex Ferrari (Bologna), Alessio Romagnoli (Milan), Daniele Rugani (Juventus);
Centrocampisti: Marco Benassi (Torino), Danilo Cataldi (Lazio), Nicolò Fazzi (Virtus Entella), Alberto Grassi (Atalanta), Rolando Mandragora (Pescara), Valerio Verre (Pescara);
Attaccanti: Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo), Federico Bernardeschi (Fiorentina), Kingsley Boateng (Bari), Alberto Cerri (Cagliari), Luca Garritano (Cesena), Gaetano Monachello (Atalanta), Alessandro Piu (Empoli).

Staff: 
Capo delegazione: Giancarlo Antognoni; 
Dirigente accompagnatore: Vincenzo Marinelli; 
Vice coordinatore Nazionali Giovanili: Maurizio Viscidi; 
Tecnico Federale: Luigi Di Biagio; 
Vice allenatore: Carmine Nunziata; 
Segretario: Emiliano Cozzi; 
Preparatore dei portieri: Antonio Chimenti; 
Preparatore atletico: Vito Azzone; Medici: Angelo De Carli e Carmine Costabile; 
Massaggiatori: Enzo Paolini e Guido Mauro Ferrini; 
Magazzinieri: Claudio Gagliardi e Andrea Russo.

Programma

lunedì 9 novembre 
Raduno entro le ore 12.30  presso il  “Mancini Park Hotel”  – ROMA 
ore 16.00 allenamento (chiuso)

martedì 10 novembre
ore 10.00 allenamento (chiuso)
ore 12.45 incontro con la Stampa in Hotel (calciatori)
ore 16.00 allenamento (aperto Stampa)

mercoledì 11 novembre
ore 10.00 allenamento (chiuso)
ore 16.00 allenamento (chiuso)
ore 20.55 volo Air Serbia  Roma/Belgrado  e trasferimento presso “Hotel Park”  di Novi Sad  
       
giovedì 12 novembre
ore 13.15 incontro con la Stampa in Hotel (il Tecnico)
ore 17.00 allenamento presso “Stadion Karadjordje” di Novi Sad (aperto Stampa primi 15 minuti)

venerdì 13 novembre
ore 18.30 gara SERBIA-ITALIA UNDER 21 presso lo “Stadion Karadjordje” di Novi Sad                    
Al termine della gara incontro con la Stampa e successivo trasferimento 
presso aeroporto di Belgrado
ore 23.30 ca. volo Charter AZ Belgrado/Pescara e trasferimento 
presso Hotel “Spoting Villa Maria” – Francavilla al Mare (CH) 

sabato 14 novembre
ore 15.30 allenamento presso Stadio Adriatico di Pescara (chiuso)

domenica 15 novembre 
ore 10.00 trasferimento della Squadra presso “Sport Village Hotel” di Castel di Sangro (AQ)  
ore 13.00 incontro con la Stampa in Hotel
ore 16.00 allenamento presso Stadio “T. Patini” di Castel di Sangro (aperto al pubblico)

lunedì 16 novembre
ore 09.45 incontro della Delegazione azzurra con gli studenti dell’Istituto di 
Istruzione Superiore “Patini Liberatore” di Castel di Sangro
ore 14.00 Conferenza Stampa del Tecnico presso Stadio “T. Patini” di Castel di Sangro
ore 15.00 allenamento presso Stadio “T. Patini” di Castel di Sangro (aperto Stampa primi 15 minuti)
           
martedì 17 novembre
ore 17.00 gara ITALIA-LITUANIA UNDER 21 presso lo Stadio “T. Patini” di Castel di Sangro                           
Al termine della gara incontro con la Stampa, scioglimento del raduno e rientro di atleti e staff alle rispettive sedi.  ]]>

Squad list Goalkeepers: Alessio Cragno (Cagliari), Gianluigi Donnarumma (Milan), Simone Scuffet (Como); Defenders: Antonio Barreca (Cagliari), Davide Calabria (Milan), Mattia Caldara (Cesena), Andrea Conti (Atalanta), Alex Ferrari (Bologna), Nicola Murru (Cagliari), Alessio Romagnoli (Milan), Daniele Rugani (Juventus); Midfielders: Marco Benassi (Torino), Danilo Cataldi (Lazio), Nicolò Fazzi (Virtus Entella), Alberto Grassi (Atalanta), Rolando Mandragora (Pescara), Valerio Verre (Pescara); Forwards: Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo), Federico Bernardeschi (Fiorentina), Kingsley Boateng (Bari), Alberto Cerri (Cagliari), Luca Garritano (Cesena), Gaetano Monachello (Atalanta). Staff:
Head of delegation: Giancarlo Antognoni;
accompanying director: Vincenzo Marinelli;
Vice coordinator of youth football: Maurizio Viscidi;
Head coach: Luigi Di Biagio;
Assistant coach: Carmine Nunziata;
Secretary: Emiliano Cozzi;
Goalkeeping coach: Antonio Chimenti;
Fitness coach: Vito Azzone;
Medical staff: Angelo De Carli and Carmine Costabile;
Masseurs: Enzo Paolini and Guido Mauro Ferrini;
Kitmen: Claudio Gagliardi and Andrea Russo. Schedule Monday 9th November Squad to assemble by 12:30  at the   “Mancini Park Hotel”  – ROME 16:00      closed training Tuesday 10th November 10:00              closed training 12:45              press meeting in the hotel (players) 16:00              training (open to the press) Wednesday 11th November 10:00              closed training 16:00              closed training 20:55              Air Serbia flight  Rome/Belgrade  and transfer to the “Hotel Park in Novi Sad Thursday 12th November 13:15              press meeting in the hotel (coach) 17:00              training at the Stadion Karadjordje in Novi Sad (first 15 minutes open to the press) Friday 13th November 18:30              matchday SERBIA vs ITALY U21s at the Stadion Karadjordje in Novi Sad    Post match press meeting and subsequent transfer  to Belgrade airport. circa 23:30 .        Charter AZ flight Belgrade/Pescara and transfer to the “Sporting Villa Maria” Hotel – Francavilla al Mare (CH) Saturday 14th November 11:00              closed training at the Stadio Adriatico in Pescara Sunday 15th November 10:00              squad transfer to the Sport Village Hotel in Castel di Sangro (AQ) 13:00              press meeting in the hotel 16:00              training at the Stadio T. Patini in Castel di Sangro (open to the public) Monday 16th November 09:45              meeting between the Azzurri delegation and students from the Istituto d' Istruzione Superiore “Patini Liberatore” in Castel di Sangro 14:00              Manager's press conference at the Stadio T. Patini in Castel di Sangro 15:00              training at the Stadio T. Patini in Castel di Sangro (first 15 minutes open to the press) Tuesday 17th November 17:00  matchday ITALY-LITHUANIA U21s at the Stadio T. Patini in Castel di Sangro                         Post match press meeting, squad disbanded and players and staff return home                                              ]]>

Di Biagio made one change from the recent Slovenia game; Boateng started as a right midfielder in their 4-4-2 formation due to Benassi’s injury, and Monachello, who scored a brace against Slovenia, came in up front to play alongside Bernardeschi.
The first chance of the game was for the visitors, but Cragno denied Byrne with a superb save in the 17th minute. Italy had a couple of opportunities through Bernardeschi, but the score remained goalless at half time. Italy resumed the match with an emphasis on attack and Bernardeschi’s effort went wide. Head coach Di Biagio then decided to make some changes and brought on the correct player, as was the case against Slovenia, when Monachello came on to scored a brace. This time, it was Parigini to enter the fray in place of Cerri and the Perugia forward gave the Azzurrini the lead five minutes later, well assisted by Bernardeschi.
Straight after taking the lead, Italy were forced to play with ten men following Bernardeschi’s second yellow card. Di Biagio immediately reacted and pulled off Boateng in order to send debutant Calabria onto the pitch. Ireland had a good chance through O’Dowda, but his effort from long range went just wide in the 83rd minute. After Italy’s last substitution, with Garritano replacing Monachello, the Azzurrini had the chance to double their lead through Mandragora, but he hit the ball weakly. It was the last real chance before the final whistle. Head coach Di Biagio praised his team: “It’s a very important result,” Italy’s manager commented, “a crucial one. My players showed a lot of character and dedication today. Sometimes dedication is not enough, but fortunately it was today. We did not play as usual, but the team delivered where it counted. I expected a game like this, what matters is that the score was positive. The red card for Bernardeschi? I was told that he threw away the ball when there were two on the pitch. I want to see that again; we certainly have to be more careful. We’re developing as a team, but we need further improvements.”   ]]>

here to read the whole interview), “Like Slovenia, Ireland have quality players, but we are ready. We want to carry on working hard, like we have been doing since the beginning of our qualifying campaign.”
  ]]>

U21 Italy players Monachello and Mandragora answered the students’ questions and talked about their experiences from the beginning of their career until now, with both the national team and their clubs. The two players encouraged the young students to follow their dreams, regardless of their sporting aspirations, and to do everything possible to overcome any obstacles that prevent them reaching their personal goals. After the event the students had the chance to take photos with the Azzurri and ask for autographs.   ]]>