By Anna Italia
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Italian Soccer Serie A
The Italian National Team trained for the first time on Monday 5 October 2021 ahead of the UEFA Nations League Semifinal with Spain scheduled on Wednesday 6 October in San Siro. The team trained at Suning Training Centre, after meeting last night at the Inter headquarters in Appiano Gentile. The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) informs that after the withdrawals of Ciro Immobile and Rafael Toloi, who were replaced respectively by Moise Kean and Davide Calabria, Davide Pessina has also dropped out after picking up an injury last night during the championship match between Atalanta and AC Milan: the FIGC has sent UEFA the required documentation relating to the unavailability of the Atalanta midfielder, requesting to be able to summon Federico Dimarco in his place.
Memory lane, the UEFA Nations League Semifinal with Spain is a replay of the semi-final of the EURO 2020, when Italy got through on penalties thanks to the save by Gianluigi Donnarumma on Morata: “We expect the same team we faced during the European Championship, it won’t be an easy match” warned the Azzurri goalkeeper in today’s press conference. Transferred in the summer from AC Milan at Paris Saint Germain, Donnarumma will return to what was his home stadium just a few months ago: “I’m excited, Milan and AC Milan are important parts of my life. I’m happy with how AC Milan are doing. I will always be a fan of the team. And I’m happy with Pioli, I often hear from him”. The hope is that the San Siro will not give him a hostile welcome: “I wouldn’t like it, also because it’s a very important match. I hope the fans can get behind us”.
For many, including Italy Head Coach Roberto Mancini who reiterated this just a few days ago in clear words, Gigio is the best goalkeeper in the world. Yet, in these first weeks of his Parisian adventure, he has not always been a starter, alternating between the sticks with Keylor Navas: “I’m in Paris to play and I’m sure everything will go great. Training with many champions helps you to grow both on a human level and a footballing level. I found a very close-knit dressing room; we feel good together. We train with a smile on our faces, with the desire to help each other”. The new French adventure can contribute to his process of maturation: “In the last two and a half months I have improved my awareness, I have become more of a man, and have grown a lot”.
Having said that it is difficult to make comparisons between the national team and PSG (“They are two completely different teams, thanks to Mancini we have a very precise identity”), as Donnarumma has an increasingly close feeling with the Azzurri group: “We look forward to coming here to be together. There are many expectations about us, but we humbly continue to work, to move forward. We know our strengths, we’re an established team, and we can play against everyone. We can have our say at the World Cup too, but for now, we have to think about the Nations League, which is very important for us”.
The condemnation of the racist chants addressed to Koulibaly is clear: “Us players stand with him; we are against all discrimination. It’s a shame to hear these things again, we are with Koulibaly and we are following every indication to fight against racism”.
🇮🇹 👉 ITALY TEAM TRAINING
The #Azzurri get down to work 👊#ITAESP #NationsLeague #VivoAzzurro pic.twitter.com/ncONqIv0BD
— Italy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@Azzurri_En) October 4, 2021
🇮🇹 👉 ITALY SQUAD LIST
Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint Germain), Alex Meret (Napoli), Salvatore Sirigu (Genoa);
Defenders: Francesco Acerbi (Lazio), Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Davide Calabria (AC Milan), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), *Federico Dimarco (Inter), Emerson Palmieri (Lione);
Midfielders: Nicolò Barella (Inter), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Jorginho (Chelsea), Manuel Locatelli (Juventus), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), Marco Verratti (Paris Saint Germain);
Forwards: Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo), Federico Bernardeschi (Juventus), Federico Chiesa (Juventus), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Moise Kean (Juventus), Giacomo Raspadori (Sassuolo).
*request sent to UEFA for his inclusion
🇮🇹 👉 ITALY – THE SCHEDULE (all times CEST)
Tuesday 5 October
15:45 – ITALY press conference (online/UEFA) at the Stadio Meazza in Milan
16:30 – ITALY training (open to the media for the first 15 minutes) at the Stadio Meazza
17:45 – SPAIN press conference (online/UEFA) at the Stadio Meazza
18:30 – SPAIN training (open to the media for the first 15 minutes) at the Stadio Meazza
Wednesday 6 October
20:45 – ITALY VS. SPAIN (UNL semi-final) at the Stadio Meazza in Milan. Followed by a press conference and transfer to Coverciano
Thursday 7 October
Time TBD – Training (closed)** at Covericano
Friday 8 October
Time TBD– Player press conference (online)* at Coverciano
Saturday 9 October
Time TBD – Transfer from Florence to X
Time TBD – ITALY press conference (online/UEFA)
Time TBD – ITALY training (open to the media for the first 15 minutes)
Time TBD – X press conference
Time TBD – X training (open to the media for the first 15 minutes)
Sunday 10 October
ITALY VS. X. Followed by a press conference and a return to the respective clubs
Italy Head Coach Roberto Mancini surely has done a good job! Great merit also to Italy Vice Coach Evani who directed the friendly against Estonia and the last 2 Nations League all three with a victory. Evani was covering Roberto Mancini after testing positive for COVID-19.
