Luciano Spalletti changed the system of the Italian national soccer team after the early European Championship and now wants to conquer the DFB team in the Nations League. A key role plays his “favorite student”.
It has not survived whether Giovanno di Lorenzo puts an apple on the desk to his national coach Luciano Spalletti every morning. It is even quite unlikely. Nevertheless, the defensive man is something like the favorite student of the 66 -year -old trainer. Together both will compete live against Germany on Thursday (March 20th, in the first, in the audio stream and in the ticker) and on Sunday (23.03.
At the age of 31, di Lorenzo is the veteran in Spalletti’s team, which is otherwise made up of twenties of mid-twenties such as Federico Dimarco, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Nicolo Barella and some young talents. After the disappointing round of 16 against Switzerland at the European Championship last summer, some experienced players had to vacate their place. Since then, Matteo Darmian, Stephan El-Sharaaway or Bryan Cristante have not been nominated for the “Squadra Azzurra”.
Successful System changeover From Spalletti
Not only did Spalletti, who took over Roberto Mancini’s office in 2023, initiated at least a small upheaval. In terms of formation, he also banished the chain of four and his beloved 4-3-3 since then from the repertoire. Statdessen: three or five chain.
Curious marginal note: In the important group game against Croatia, Spalletti had already put himself on this system and talked to the media in a press conference after the game, because the idea of changing the system had apparently been previously passed on to the media and this had partially criticized communication with the team about the tactical orientation.
The result is impressive: only the sporty, meaningful group game in the Nations League against France, in which both teams were in the quarter -finals before the kick -off, was lost. The first leg against France clearly won, there was a victory against Belgium and a draw, Israel was defeated twice.
Di Lorenzo – Spallettis more familiar
An important factor in the new formation is the Lorenzo. Together with Spalletti, he won the Italian championship with the SSC Naples as captain 2023. It is well known that this cooperation has the potential to become successful.
Spalletti has now played well over 800 games as head coach in his career, and yet Di Lorenzo is already represented in the top 25 of the players he made most frequently. The two apparently speak a similar language on the square and also come from the same corner of Italy: their birthplaces only separate about 80 kilometers as the crow flies, but they only have a good 500 kilometers of south -east in Naples.
What is new, however, is the position that Di Lorenzo has been taking to the national team since summer. In the club under Spalletti and still almost always on the right defensive track today, the 1.83 meter tall defender now gives the right part in the triple chain.
No longer on the wing and yet dangerous than ever
Spalletti uses the well-known flexibility of the 44-time national player. In the opening of the player, it is technically strong enough to play one or the other ball into the top, but at the same time he can act as a “ball tractor” if the allocation stations are delivered in the structure. In protection, its excellent speed for a central defender is just as worth gold as his physique, which is not sufficient against the Erling Haaland in the world, but is robust enough against most attackers so as not to simply be “pushed around”.
With Alessandro Bastoni, Alessandro Buongiorno or Federico Gatti, Di Lorenzo also usually gets two real “towers” by Spalletti aside, which can then give the triple chain the necessary extra portion of physicality.
Italy’s national coach Luciano Spalletti with his player Giovanni di Lorenzo, at that time at SSC Naples
However, Di Lorenzo is by no means completely robbed of his own strengths in the opposing half: on the contrary. Again and again he can dynamically push forward in the possession phases in order to put the opposing defensive on the right attack side before assigning problems or to complete from the back room. Two goals and one template are on his account in the five missions in the new role – these are almost as many goal participations as in his 39 international matches before (five).
By the way, Di Lorenzo has never played against Germany. He was not used in both duels in the Nations League in 2022. Under Spalletti there should hardly be this this time. Julian Nagelsmann, who, like many DFB managers recently, emphasized that the Nations League was to be taken seriously as a competition, the role of Giovanni di Lorenzo will probably take a closer look.