Luciano Spalletti spoke at a press conference on the eve of the match between Italy and Germany. Here are his words, as reported by TMW:
In 2006, Italy won a historic match here. Can your national team rewrite its history tomorrow?
`We can`t always dwell on past dates that we carry with us for years; we need to create something new. We need an epic performance because we are starting from a disadvantage, but we need another performance like the one on Thursday. We don`t need to invent impossible things. They are a strong team, but at San Siro we did what we had to do, and if we can repeat that, I am convinced we will bring home the victory.`
Do you see Bastoni as a full-back like at Inter? Can you do without Bastoni tomorrow?
`Bastoni will play. Then it`s clear that putting him more as a full-back is like putting him on his home sofa because he plays there at Inter. But he has done well as a central defender, he has set up the play well. Then there`s Bastoni, there`s Buongiorno, and we should make them coexist even when Calafiori is available.`
How is Zaccagni doing? Can he do what Politano does?
`Yes, he can do it too, he is that type of player. He is the external attacker for a 4-2-3-1, for a 4-3-3. Now he has improved by moving inside the field because at his club Nuno Tavares pushes a lot and he comes inside. However, even if he is doing well, yesterday he played a ten-minute practice match, it is a bit risky to start him from the beginning. While during the match, when there is a need for a change of pace, he is a perfect player.`
Can Lucca and Kean play together?
`It can also be done, it is in the characteristics of our players. Considering the match, I think it is better to have one who does a job of connecting the two sectors, we have several of them there, and since we want to win it, if you play them both from the start, then you won`t have anyone to put on later in the match if needed.`
Could it be Maldini`s turn tomorrow?
`Why not… He has shown that he is a top-level player. He just needs to rack up minutes in important matches to reach his maximum. We have two or three who can play there, and he is also among them.`
Will Gatti`s height be needed tomorrow? Are Ricci and Rovella alternatives?
`In this scenario, the more height you have, the better. These athletes are increasingly muscular, taller. Because when you lower that, you are vulnerable in certain aspects. About players, don`t get me wrong… But you can play in more ways, and we have solutions for the future, to put those centimeters in for these matches. Rovella and Ricci can play together, but tomorrow only one of them will play.`
What more is needed tomorrow?
`We knew we were facing a strong team… In my life, I have hidden many defeats and I didn`t want to treat it as something similar because we did what we had to do, we just need to change some episodes and manage to determine things individually as well. Tomorrow everything will count, the collective, because the team will matter a lot.`
Collovati says man-marking has been somewhat lost. Do you agree?
`If you just kick the ball forward, the opposing defenders are always at an advantage. In the evolution of football, they come at you and force you to find different solutions, they call it build-up play. Because if you manage to get out, then you also find interesting spaces…`
TMW – How difficult are these increasingly shorter breaks to manage? How is Frattesi doing?
`More than anything, it`s the three days before because then you are left with many things you saw during the first match. You have analyses taken from the previous match, it`s all more direct and real. Maybe in the first match, a couple of extra days would have been useful. But it`s like that for everyone: the difference is made by maintaining the level of attention and quality, even during the match. Frattesi is fine from what I could see, then I also saw that he played little. Only the match can tell if he is able to play well from the start, it is part of the evaluations. We are dealing with a strong national team and we also have to invent something.`
How is Politano after being substituted on Thursday?
`Politano is fine. I took him off because at that moment there was a need for a few more centimeters, I intervened believing I was doing well. I took him off because he had sprinted and chased many times, he is good at doing that role even if it is not exactly his. Regarding the choices, I think tomorrow we will need to stay in the game from the start, we will need to keep it alive and then intervene even more heavily during the match. But the important thing is the impact we will have in this stadium here and perhaps always remembering that Italy is not just a football team, but the National Team. We go to play face to face against any opponent, against any type of team. Openly.`