Azzurri boss Luciano Spalletti likened his role as coach to that of a ‘diviner’ in search for new young talent. The former Napoli boss was speaking with RAI 2 about his time in charge of the national side, and explained the process he has to undertake to unearth new players:
“My role has connotations of a diviner – My duty is to watch, observe, discover everything that can make people rejoice.”
“Kayode , Ranieri, Koleosho, Casadei, who we had in our sights for a while, came out. Bove is now a certainty, I liked Lucca’s attitude in the last period, and then Prati, Calafiori who is a certainty on the left and centre, and is ready for the national team.”
“The scudetto in Naples and qualifying for the EURO’s? The first was a memorable collective journey on the tracks of dreams and madness: it seemed impossible even in dreams. The European qualification is instead the voice that rises from the bottom of the well into which we had fallen and that shouts to the world that we’re here too and we’re more alive than ever.
“It allows us to go to Germany to defend the title we won in 2021, but there’s still a lot of work to do.”
“Having to deal with complicated situations makes me happy. I belong to that generation of people for whom being part of the national team makes their hearts beat faster. Well, my hope is that this happiness can touch many Italians.”
“I remember everything about the 2006 World Cup in Germany: the block created by Lippi , with whom I only have in common, at the moment, being Tuscan like him…the sequence of the five penalty takers sure of scoring in the final…Every tackle at the back by the defence, who was all the muscle of the team.”
“Then I didn’t see the final: I experienced it with my two children, aged 14 and 11 at the time, screaming at every roll of the ball and ending in a big collective embrace”.
“They will convey to us love and a sense of belonging, it is for them too that we will not have to spare even an inch.”
“De Laurentiis and Gravina? It’s like night and day: one is an entrepreneur, the other has always been a football man, it’s right that there are different approaches. It is undeniable that they are both successful presidents, they are doing important things for our football. The thing I liked most about Gravina was that he always put me at ease, showing me respect and putting the values of Italian football and young people at the center.”
