Italy becomes former Euro champion and the eccentricity of coach Spalletti

(Dan Tri) - Italy was comprehensively defeated by Switzerland and became the former European champion. Coach Luciano Spalletti made up a bunch of reasons to justify his and his players' failure.

Switzerland is not just about watches and Italy is no longer the champion

The 2-0 score did not reflect the full difference between Switzerland and Italy in the Euro 2024 Round of 16 match on the evening of June 29 at the Olympic Stadium (Berlin, Germany). At many times, the ball was almost exclusively on the Azzurri side of the field. Switzerland dominated and controlled the game, to the point that Italian players were able to take the ball away whenever they brought it close to the middle of the field. Statistics show that Italy only had one shot on target, while Swiss players had a pass accuracy rate of up to 91.8%. Switzerland is not just about banks, watches and chocolate. Including Euro 2024, Switzerland holds the record of reaching the knockout round 6 times in a row at major tournaments (World Cup and Euro). The only European national team with a better record than Switzerland is the giant France, with 7 consecutive times. In addition, defeating Italy helped Switzerland reach the Euro quarter-finals for the second time in a row. Switzerland are no pushovers, but defending champions Italy have been terrible. In fact, few pundits had high opinions of the Azzurri before Euro 2024, with a few speculating that the Azzurri would be as bad as they were in Germany. Italy’s failure can be explained by a generation of underrated players, including underperforming defenders, a shaky midfield with lethargic midfielders, and an attack dominated by mediocre forwards.

Italy was completely outclassed by Switzerland in the competition in Berlin (Photo: Getty).

However, it is impossible not to blame the defeat of the Italian team on head coach Luciano Spalletti, even though this coach cited a bunch of reasons to justify the defeat. "Conceding the second goal right at the beginning of the second half was a heavy blow to the spirit of the whole team," Spalletti said, something the general who led the team on the field could not say. "We played at a slower pace than the opponent," this strategist assessed, but within his own responsibility, couldn't he speed up?! "The players had a very long season at the club and the weather today was very hot," Spalletti gave the reason. Perhaps the Swiss had been resting at home for the past year and brought the cool air of the Alpine mountains to the field. "We lacked fast players," he said, but football is not a 4x100m relay. Most notably, Spalletti excused: "I didn't have much time to work with the players and coaching staff." That is an unacceptable statement. Because the nature of national football is intermittent, limited in time and limited in human resources.

When Spalletti struggled with the nature of national team football

Despite its size, Serie A remains one of Europe's top five leagues. The Italian national team still has a few world- class players, a few former world-class players, a few potential world-class players, and the rest are mostly stopgap players.

Italy's defense became too fragile against Switzerland, which is not too strong in attack (Photo: Getty).

Spalletti is on the highest salary of any coach at the Euros to find a solution for Italy. The 65-year-old has a proven track record. He has been named Serie A coach of the season three times. His tactical knowledge and ability to execute it are well respected. Years ago, when he was in charge of AS Roma, Spalletti invented the strikerless formation, with Francesco Totti playing up front. Less than a year ago, Spalletti led Napoli to their first Scudetto in 33 years and reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League with brilliant attacking football. The problem is that club football is very different from national football. Spalletti never showed his tactical talent with the Azzurri because he simply did not have the time to endlessly repeat the same tactics on the training ground. The 65-year-old needed to keep things simple, read the situation, read the players and adjust quickly. And Spalletti failed miserably. Entering the tournament, the respected captain of the Italian team talked about "identity" and maintaining the ball control, overwhelming attack mindset built by his predecessor Roberto Mancini and reaped success with the European Championship. Coach Spalletti wanted the whole team to develop on that foundation. However, when the predetermined strategy failed miserably against the Spanish team, Spalletti made a 180-degree turn in both system and personnel. This strategist eliminated strikers Federico Chiesa and Gianluca Scamacca and switched from a 4-3-3 to a 3-5-2 formation in the decisive match against Croatia.

Coach Spaletti's personality and eccentricity are not suitable for leading the national team (Photo: Getty).

This adjustment, or rather shaking things up, did not work. It was not until the eighth minute of injury time that the Azzurri avoided defeat and elimination. When it came to the clash with Switzerland, Spalletti made another change. Stephan El Shaarawy was brought into the starting lineup, the Scamacca-Chiesa pair returned, a defensive midfielder (Cristante) was added and instead of replacing the injured Federico Dimarco with a player capable of destroying on the left, the strategist chose Darmian, 34 years old and used to playing in the center-back position, to take on the role of full-back.

Lessons for national team coaches

One day it can't be Pep Guardiola, the next day it can be Jose Mourinho. In football, the more a coach adjusts, the less effective it is. The message is important, not only are Spalletti's professional decisions inconsistent, but the 65-year-old's attitude towards public opinion is also problematic. He is haunted by the thought that there is an insider in the national team who has leaked information to the media. Spalletti is eccentric, strange and rude to the point that he once said in a press conference that "if you indulge in sex every day for 14 years, you will know as much as I do". Spalletti is too sharp, sour and sensitive to criticism, whether real or fake. This coach left Napoli because he did not receive praise and a salary increase after the championship, the club simply sent him an email informing him of a one-year contract extension.

Italian football needs a revolution after Euro 2024 (Photo: Getty).

Napoli's handling of the situation was undeniably clumsy, but the way Spalletti stormed off and stormed off was telling. He said he was "on leave," and the leave lasted just over a month, until Mancini himself left the Italy job for a lucrative job in Saudi Arabia and the Italian Football Federation quickly offered Spalletti the national team job. With his sharp tongue, eccentric personality, and wit, Spalletti looks charming when things are going well. But when things go wrong, it all quickly becomes frustrating. Spalletti doesn't have a Ferrari or even a BMW for the Euros. He has a stock Toyota, which he has tinkered with to go as fast and as far as he can. Unfortunately, tinkering under the hood only made the machine more problematic, before Spalletti drove the car into one obstacle after another until the wheels fell off.

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