Battered by a form crisis and a betting scandal, Italy goes into the new edition of the European Championship final against England as outsiders. One of the defending champions’ hopes is Naples’ master coach Spalletti, who is counting on a generation of previously unfulfilled promises in the national team.
Luciano Spalletti wanted to drive a tractor these days. And he presses the Sangiovese and Merlot grapes on his winery near Montaione for a good vintage of his red wine Bordocampo. Enjoy a sabbatical between the hills of Tuscany and switch off from football, that was the plan. After winning the championship title with SSC Napoli, but above all two exhausting years under Naples’ egomaniacal club president Aurelio Di Laurentis.
But now Spalletti is leading Italy’s national team into the new edition of the European Championship final against England. Coach’s bench instead of tractor seat, Wembley instead of vintage. Napoli’s champions rush to help because Italy was left without a coach in the middle of qualifying. The former folk hero Roberto Mancini gave up his salary to earn five times as much as national coach in Saudi Arabia. The Squadra Azzurra was increasingly reeling after the triumph at Wembley; the memory of Chiellini and Co.’s victory celebration seemed like a faded image from the distant past.
Betting scandal overshadows European Championship qualification
Now Spalletti is supposed to achieve the generational change half-heartedly attempted by Mancini. And lead Italy, as defending champions, to the European Championships in Germany. After missing the World Cup in Qatar, the Squadra Azzurra is also having difficulties in qualifying for the European Championship. Behind leaders England, Italy is currently fighting for second place with Ukraine.
As if those weren’t enough problems, there’s also a betting scandal. Two players are involved who Spalletti had planned for the restart: midfielder Sandro Tonali (23, Newcastle) and striker Nicolò Zaniolo (24, Aston Villa).
The Turin public prosecutor’s office is investigating the two national players for betting and gambling on illegal platforms. Police officers came to the Coverciano training center to hear Tonali and Zaniolo, but the association sent both of them home. According to Italian media reports, Tonali has now entered therapy for gambling addiction.
Bearers of hope Bonaventure
After the turbulent days in Coverciano, Spalletti primarily worked as a teacher. After the 4-0 win against Malta, he praised his remaining players for remaining “attentive and focused”.
Hope for the final revival at Wembley comes from a kicker who Spalletti admits: At first he didn’t dare to invite him because he thought he was too old. But at the age of 34, Giacomo Bonaventura from Fiorentina is currently one of the strongest players in Serie A. With his goal against Malta (no one was older when he scored his first goal in the national team!), Bonaventura showed why he was a midfield technician in his youth whispered: “Someday someone will be like Baggio.”
In terms of age, Bonaventura is the exception in the new national team made by Spalletti. Almost all of the over-30 stars of the European Championship triumph are no longer there, including new Union player Leonardo Bonucci. Instead, Spalletti relies on people in their twenties. Including some who were considered talents in Italy but were in danger of losing their way in the early years of their careers.
Spalletti sets “everything to zero”
A symbolic figure of Spalletti’s attempted rescue of the generation of unfulfilled promises is Moise Kean (23) from Juventus Turin. At the age of 18, the powerful center forward with Ivorian roots was already in the Italian national team. Afterwards, many coaches complained that Kean was wasting his talent. Everything is at zero, says Spalletti. He’s not interested in what happened before. “I treat my players like special people,” says the new one Commissario tecnico, “but I also demand special services for this”. Against Malta, Kean, who does not have a regular place at Juve, was one of the strongest.
Other mid-twenties that Spalletti is betting on and who still have room for improvement in their careers are Kean’s storm rival Gianluca Scamacca (24), who is now at Atalanta Bergamo after club shopping, and the former Roman Zaniolo (24), who is currently involved in the betting scandal injured Federico Chiesa (25) from Juventus, his club colleague Manuel Locatelli (25), who has been highly praised for years, and Naples’ supplementary player Giacomo Raspadori (23). EM hero Gianluigi Donnarumma (24), in goal, who has recently had mixed performances, is also strengthened by Spalletti.
Total dedication and respect
From everyone in the national team, Spalletti wants “total dedication” – and respect. He let it be known that he didn’t want a national player who “wiggled through Coverciano with headphones over his ears like an idiot.” Those who didn’t stick to it could of course continue their careers, the 64-year-old added, “but without me.”
Spalletti himself got off the tractor because the national team was the most beautiful thing, “una cosa bellissima”. For decades he stood on the sidelines in a tracksuit and football boots, including in the Champions League. Now as national coach he no longer thinks that is appropriate. At Wembley, as was the case recently against Malta, Spalletti is likely to be on the sidelines in an elegant suit, even a tie.