Football is still a topic on the eve of the Spain friendly despite the horrible recent news. A minute’s silence will be observed in Udine tomorrow to remember the Italian students that passed away in Spain and the victims of the Brussels attacks. Those tragic images and events are on everyone’s lips in the Azzurri squad and their mind is elsewhere: “It is the second time that something like this has happened. The first time while we were playing against Belgium, and now once again, just four months later. We are experiencing those terrible moments all over again. As for the EUROs in France, what’s happening will inevitably lead to the security alert increasing. EUROs and World Cups are events that should be festivals for citizens from all the participating nations and that’s what they have to be in the future as well. I hope that these tragic facts will not affect events that have always been met with enthusiasm and passion by the fans.” Finally, Conte commented on these last two years as Italy head coach: “I think I have acted in the way you asked me to; always direct and correct. If I have to mention something that I have disliked, I would say that often every possible claim was used to create controversy or a good headline for the newspapers. Coaching the Italy national team has been a fantastic experience for me. I have not regretted my decision for a single day, because coaching the national team of your country makes you immensely proud. I was promised I’d be able to work more often with my team, but it simply did not happen.”
 
Squad list Goalkeepers: 1 Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), 27 Mattia Perin (Genoa), 12 Salvatore Sirigu (Paris Saint Germain);
Defenders 15 Francesco Acerbi (Sassuolo), 3 Luca Antonelli (Milan), 5 Davide Astori (Fiorentina), 19 Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), 4 Matteo Darmian (Manchester United), 2 Lorenzo De Silvestri (Sampdoria), 13 Andrea Ranocchia (Sampdoria), 25 Daniele Rugani (Juventus);
Midfielders: 24 Alessandro Florenzi (Roma), 23 Emanuele Giaccherini (Bologna), 14 Jorginho (Napoli), 18 Riccardo Montolivo (Milan), 8 Thiago Motta (Paris Saint Germain), 16 Marco Parolo (Lazio), 21 Roberto Soriano (Sampdoria);
Forwards: 29 Federico Bernardeschi (Fiorentina), 28 Giacomo Bonaventura (Milan), 6 Antonio Candreva (Lazio), 17 Eder (Inter), 22 Stephan El Shaarawy (Roma), 11 Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), 20 Stefano Okaka (Anderlecht), 9 Graziano Pellé (Southampton), 7 Simone Zaza (Juventus).
 
Staff: Head Coach: Antonio Conte; team manager: Gabriele Oriali; secretary: Mauro Vladovich; assistant coaches: Angelo Alessio, Massimo Carrera, Gianluca Spinelli, Gianluca Conte and Mauro Sandreani; fitness coaches: Costantino Coratti and Paolo Bertelli; team doctors: Enrico Castellacci and Luca Gatteschi; physiotherapists: Aldo Esposito, Alessandro Donato, Takahiro Yamamoto, Emanuele Randelli and Pasquale Raia.
Schedule (all times CET until and including Saturday, CEST thereafter)
Friday, 25th March
11:20   Arrival in Florence and transfer to Coverciano
16:00   Training session (behind closed doors) Saturday, 26th March
10:00   Training session (behind closed doors)
13:00   Open to the press with accreditation*
13:30   Press conference (players)
16:00   Training session (open to the press for the first 15 minutes) Sunday, 27th March (Easter)
10:00   Training session (behind closed doors)
15:30   Open to the press with accreditation*
16:00   Training session (open to the press for the first 15 minutes) Monday, 28th March
10:30   Training session (behind closed doors)
16:30   Flight departure from Florence to Munich
17:50   Arrival in Munich and transfer to Allianz Arena
18:45   Training followed by press conference (coach and one player) and transfer to the hotel Tuesday 29th March
20:45   Friendly GERMANY v ITALY – Allianz Arena followed by press conference and transfer to the airport
00:30   Departure charter flight from Munich to Milan and Rome
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