Gian Piero Ventura was especially pleased with his team’s performance in Milan, as Italy slowly started to look like the team that he has in mind. Ventura was satisfied and he was unafraid to hide it, even if the draw wasn’t the ideal result: “We played well,” said Ventura. “Objectively we conceded very little to our opponents this evening. It is true that they were missing some players, but that was also the case for us. Germany are still the world champions and we conceded almost nothing to them. There was a save from Buffon, but in the second half there was nothing. Meanwhile, as well as hitting the post, we also had four or five situations of numerical superiority and we should have done better with those situations. Perhaps, we deserved to win the game but that is the way it is and we must accept the result.”
The coach was full of compliments for his squad: “It was a positive approach,” he continued. “Especially in regard to the team’s behavior and their reading of situations. We played 3-5-2 in Israel and 4-2-4 in Liechtenstein. Today we played 3-4-3 with just two days training. I want to praise the squad, we have now started on a specific path. There is a lot to do, but the future is a lot brighter than you might think.”
However, Ventura did stress that this was not the right time to think about Spain: “First of all there is the next game against Albania. This is an important challenge. I have always been satisfied with this squad, ever since the first friendly right up until today. I would not even erase the first half against Spain, this taught us a lot. However, I would dismiss the 15 minutes against Macedonia, as we lost our identity during that period. Apart from that, we have done well in all of the other matches: I am satisfied and even more so than me, the players should be also. They have started very well.”
One of the best players on Tuesday was Daniele De Rossi, who inspired a number of dangerous attacks for Italy: “The important match was the World Cup qualifier,” said the player in reference to their win over Liechtenstein. “It was a different type of game but it was important for us to find the right balance after some modest performances. Tonight, we played as equals against a strong side. They were aggressive but did not allow them to threaten us. We put in a good performance and showed a positive attitude.”
