EURO2024
Italy “too careless”: Late trembling annoys Spalletti
Italy’s coach Luciano Spalletti was not always satisfied with his team’s performance. Photo
© Bernd Thissen/dpa
Italy wins against Albania at the start of the European Championship, but loses concentration. This makes coach Luciano Spalletti furious. Can the defending champions keep up with top teams like Spain?
Captain Gianluigi Donnarumma and his teammates were still enjoying the cheers of the thousands of Italian football fans in the Dortmund stadium when coach Luciano Spalletti is already making his first angry speech.
The 65-year-old criticised his team for being “too comfortable” and “too careless” in the 2-1 (2-1) win against Albania at the start of the European Championship. “Sometimes we like ourselves too much. We thought we were better than we really were in some situations.” The defending champions were behind after 22 seconds against the underdog and almost lost the win in the final phase.
Spalletti appeared agitated and angry on the TV microphone immediately after the final whistle. “Even though we had the chance to control the game, we were too comfortable and not aggressive enough,” he said. In the final phase, the coach had already jumped up and down on the sidelines, gesticulating wildly. A draw against Albania would have put the four-time world champions in a bad position early on in Group B, which includes Nations League winners Spain and World Cup third-placed Croatia.
Barella like “Pirlo plus Gattuso”
The Azzurri can therefore secure their place in the round of 16 with a win in the duel with Spain on Thursday. However, the Iberians played much more confidently than the Italians in the 3-0 win against Croatia and are likely to become the first real European Championship benchmark. “Spain has shown now and in the past that they are a great team,” praised 2021 European champion Federico Chiesa. “But so are we.”
The defending champions failed to provide definitive proof of this against Albania. Almost three years after their triumph at Wembley, the Squadra Azzurra showed for long stretches why they are also among the extended circle of title contenders in Germany. In the first half in particular, the team, led by the strong Inter professional Nicolò Barella, delivered an absolutely dominant performance and created several impressive scoring opportunities.
Albania with the earliest goal in European Championship history
The only drawback: Alessandro Bastoni (11th minute) and Barella (16th minute) only managed two goals. “Yes, we should have scored more goals. But that’s football,” said Barella, who had just recovered in time after a muscular problem. “Barella is Pirlo plus Gattuso,” enthused the “Corriere dello Sport” with regard to the two Italian legends.
On the other hand, the former world champions were repeatedly sloppy and far too careless in defense. A catastrophic throw-in by Federico Dimarco led to Nedim Bajrami making it 0-1 after just 22 seconds – the fastest goal in European Championship history. Chiesa spoke of a “positive shock” and recalled the 0-1 defeat in the 2021 European Championship final against England after less than two minutes. He promised: “This will be a lesson for us.”
Donnarumma prevents the 2:2
Spalletti also praised the team’s reaction to the early setback. “Everyone said: ‘OK, that can happen. Let’s get the game back.'” But after a weaker second half, Italy had to tremble again, especially in the final phase. Donnarumma saved the narrow victory against substitute Rey Manaj (90th).
These carelessnesses, which would be punished much more severely by a stronger opponent like Spain or Croatia, also annoyed Spalletti. After around ten months in office, the coach has already conveyed a lot of his game plan to his team – but he is still far from satisfied. Against Albania he saw “a lot of good things”, but also stressed: “They have to lead somewhere. If they remain an end in themselves, they are of no use.”