EURO 2024: Keeping the Blue Sky Forever

An Italian newspaper wrote that before their team left. In the media, many of their great stars in the past such as Francesco Totti, Roberto Baggio or veteran coaches like Arrigo Sacchi all gave the Italian players the most affectionate words, both encouraging and inspiring in them national pride and the will to win.

The burden of a champion

It is no surprise that last week coach Luciano Spalletti invited five legendary Italian number 10s to his Coverciano training camp to let his players interact with their seniors. One thing that needs to be made clear is that Italy are not highly rated and are not candidates for the championship. The only burden on their shoulders is the EURO title that they have to defend.

Coach Luciano Spalletti has only had 10 matches in charge of the Italian national team.

REUTERS

Without the old number 10s, without the big stars capable of standing next to Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane or Jude Bellingham, the Italian team has to rely on the strength of a collective solidarity and the will and spirit of each individual to overcome layer upon layer of difficulties, from there go as far as possible, even win the cup, as they did at the last EURO. That is when they deploy a type of football that is fast and has few touches, when they surprise everyone by pushing the opponent into waves that continuously hit the shore. And when Roberto Mancini's army cannot finish off the opponent, they will stay in their trenches and fortresses, making Gianluigi Donnarumma the hero with his saves in the penalty shootout. Mancini left after failing to take Italy to the 2022 World Cup, in a way that left many Italians frustrated, and he left Spalletti with a team that was drained of ideas and had little motivation. One thing is certain and clear: if Spalletti fails to do wonders with Italy at this EURO, no one will blame him. Spalletti has only had 10 games in charge of the Italian national team and he has done everything he can to have the best possible Italy team for this arduous journey.

Missing a locomotive

That difficulty is reflected in the fact that Mr. Spalletti has used at least three different starting formations and when the ball rolled today, there were still positions that gave him a headache because they were not fit enough to play. That is Davide Frattesi, who was tested as an advanced midfielder to support the attack, and especially Nicolo Barella, the central midfielder who has always played an extremely important role in the middle. Frattesi may play, but Barella is not known and he will almost certainly be replaced by Bryan Cristante, who played 6 out of 7 matches at EURO 2020, all from the bench. He is one of 9 survivors from that championship-winning squad, along with Donnarumma, Meret, Di Lorenzo, Bastoni, Raspadori, Jorginho and Chiesa. Except for Bastoni, who has become more mature and solid, and Cristante, who is increasingly proving himself to be an irreplaceable midfielder, none of the remaining names have shown that they are still at the top. The absence of experienced players as leaders like Bonucci and Chiellini in the EURO 2020 journey is also a big challenge. With 62 caps for the national team, Donnarumma is the most veteran and experienced player in the current squad, but he is only 25 years old and with his personality, he is not a leader for his teammates to follow. Another comment about the current Italian team: the quality of the people and expertise is not as good as the EURO 3 years ago. The people who played an important role in that day who are still in this squad have also declined a lot, especially Jorginho. The reason he was chosen is because in the position of organizing midfielder, Italian football has no one who is capable of fighting better than him. Italy's opening match of EURO 2024 is against Albania, the team considered the weakest in the "group of death" (2am on June 16, live on VTV3). In fact, underestimating this team would be a big mistake. Many players in their squad are playing in Serie A and understand Italian football very well. They are ready to create shocks in this tournament. Therefore, a misstep in Italy's first match would mean disaster, in an extremely difficult group. To keep the blue color forever, a victory in the first match in Dortmund is extremely necessary.

Coach Nguyen Quang Hai: The Italian team will affirm their pride

I would choose Italy because I think that when they are eliminated from the World Cup, they will look back and change their style of play or their players. The team that won the last EURO will change and will show the world that sometimes football has its low points. I like Italy because of their collective play, their cohesion and discipline. Against Albania, who have always been defeated in the last 4 meetings, I believe that a victory will belong to the Italians.

Tieu Bao (recorded) - Thanhnien.vn

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/euro-2024-de-mau-thien-thanh-mai-xanh-185240614233934655.htm