Italy manager Luciano Spalletti has vowed to rebuild his national team after a disappointing performance at the recent European Championship. The reigning champions exited the tournament in the last 16 following a 2-0 defeat by Switzerland. This came after a group stage where they only managed a single victory.
Spalletti took responsibility for the team’s struggles, admitting that he may have placed too much pressure on the players. “When we talk about failure at the Euros, we need to be more precise in our analysis, because in my opinion, it only relates to the game against Switzerland, which was very bad,” he said. “Now, we turn a new page and from now on, we have to think more about our identity.”
The Italian manager is determined to create a new team dynamic with a focus on building confidence and allowing players more freedom on the pitch. “I am going to create a new group, a new team, putting less pressure on them and hopefully they feel the beauty of the Azzurri shirt even more.”
He believes that this change in approach will allow the players to tap into their full potential. “We have players who have made history in past call-ups. We are dealing with a team that has a lot of quality, and a massive possibility of reaching higher levels.”
Spalletti is drawing inspiration from his successful tenure with Napoli, where he instilled a more free-flowing style of play that led to their first Serie A title in 33 years. “What you do in the game makes all the difference, and we will try to give them more freedom to put their quality into practice, because the players have quality.”
Italy will be looking to bounce back in their upcoming Nations League matches against France on Friday and Israel in Budapest on Sept. 9.
