Roberto Mancini’s adventure on the Italy bench has begun. The Head Coach took training for the first time this morning ahead of the friendlies against Saudi Arabia (28th May, St Gallen), France (1st June, Nice) and the Netherlands (4th June, Turin). Dressed in the training kit with boots on his feet, he took an active role, running alongside the players as though he was one of them. “I’m used to doing it that way,” he began at his press conference. “It all went well. On this first day, I got to know people. I’m not a magician, I don’t have a magic wand with which to fix everything in one, three or five matches. It will take time. This needs to be a team that unites in a time of difficulty.”
That the FIGC is currently led by a commissioner cannot be an excuse (“the last World Cup win was with a commissioner, I hope it’s a good sign). Bearzot’s Italy who overcome criticism and negativity in the press to win the 1982 World Cup are also a positive reference point. “It’s the National Team that I’m most linked to, it started with problems and controversies and went on to unite the country in an extraordinary fashion.”
Those in attendance stated that the National Team was able to count on a larger pool of talent in the past. “Before, there were lots of talents and all together there was an incredible wealth of riches. However, I’m confident that these players can give a lot for the National Team. A lot of them are young, they’ve not played a lot in Europe but they’ll gain experience and they need to be trusted. The work will be more difficult compared to in the past but the Italian National Team has always been able to improve players. Lots of National Teams have had problems and then they return to playing at a high level over the course of a few years.”
The door will be always open for Buffon and the other veteran Daniele De Rossi: “I’ve spoken with Buffon and he explained to me that he wants to keep playing. All the eligible players who stand out with their performances can be called up.” Mario Balotelli knows it well as he’s made his Azzurri comeback, included for the first time since the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. “What did Balotelli say to me? For now, he just said good morning boss,” joked Mancini, who tried to imitate the Nice striker’s voice to the delight of the journalists. “We will have time to speak in the coming days. The last time that we saw each other was four years ago. I believe he’s more mature, he has two children and I think this helps him a lot. I’m very confident because he has played very well in the last two years, but a lot will depend on him.”
After Emerson Palmieri and Claudio Marchisio, Federico Bernardeschi has also had to withdraw from the squad through injury. The Juventus winger came to Coverciano already injured and, upon agreement with his club, he went back home to continue his treatment. Ciro Immobile and Simone Zaza didn’t take part in this morning’s session in order to undergo medical tests.”
“We’ll now assess Immobile and Zaza’s conditions. If someone is not feeling well, I don’t want to risk losing players because of injuries. Perhaps we’ll call up some Under-21 players, they need to play in games like these. The fact that these are friendlies doesn’t matter. We are Italy, we must try to win every game and put in good performances. The league is now over and many players are tired. There will be major rotation in the upcoming three games.” In terms of goalkeeping, Donnarumma, Perin and Sirigu will all have a chance to prove themselves, since no precise hierarchy in goal has yet been established: “We have three very good goalkeepers, I have to get to know them. All three of them will play in our upcoming games.”
Photo: figc.it