Italy’s new era has officially started today. The new Azzurri manager Giampiero Ventura has been unveiled in Coverciano and has started his tenure with a smile and the determination to achieve important results. “I am happy to be here,” he said. “I am proud to manage one of the biggest national teams in the world. I want to thank President Tavecchio and General Director Uva for their support, and obviously also Antonio Conte who passed on a squad to me rich in value and determined to work hard. This can be an advantage for me and I will try to capitalise on it. I know we will have little time to work with the players, but if we put organisation, union and passion into what we do, I am sure we can do well. We regained the trust of our fans at UEFA EURO and we want to move on from there.”
Ventura knows what he wants to do: “I would like this team to remain humble, as it was under Conte. But I also want it to be determined, ferocious, and exciting, and I will give my all to do my bit working towards that. We will have three days to prepare for our friendly against France, three more to prepare for our first qualifier against Israel. There are several promising young players in Italy, I have always used young players in my teams, but you also have to be careful not to put them under too much pressure. We will need to be patient.”
How will Ventura’s Italy play? “It’s not a matter of tactics, we all need to go in the same direction: any tactic can be good if it’s implemented well. We will start from the 23 players who took part in UEFA EURO, but I am also considering Marchisio and Verratti, who were injured, as well as Perin and Donnarumma. Our young players do not have to win at all costs, they have to develop.”
What about Balotelli? “He is like all other players, he needs to behave properly, like a professional. Time will tell, I have no prejudices, the pitch will have the final word. He is an important player, but to show his qualities he also has to behave properly. He has great potential and it’s up to him to make that count.”
And Pellè? “I will talk to all players who took part in UEFA EURO, I respect them for what they did. China is obviously far away, we will see what happens. I will talk to him too for sure.”
Ventura will soon meet all Serie A managers and follow the Azzurri players’ pre-season games with their respective clubs.
Photo: figc.it