Italy EURO 2024 Reaction: What Went Wrong? From Luciano Spalletti To Players To FIGC & More (Ep.431)

[@dangiambrone7350]

Say what you will about Allegri, but I agree with him 100% when he said: "we have to play like Italy do historically, without trying to copy other countries. We are not Spain." Spalletti's "be like water" approach confused the hell out of the players. We need to get back to basics and tradition, build a solid team that's tough to beat, more direct and dangerous on the counter, and with a sprinkling of flair: basically like how our Under-17 Champions played. Despite what many say, I believe we still have some fine players. For instance, a back three consisting of Calafiori, Bastoni and Buongiourno is a very solid foundation. From there, you could have Tonali anchoring, with Locatelli and Barella going box to box, and with Udogie and Bellanova on the flanks we would have some decent pace. The striker situation is a clear headache and was done no favours with Spalletti's approach and frequent tinkering. That said, a forward paring of Raspadori and Scamacca could still work. It did at Sassuolo, and if not Camarda and the equally as impressive Liberali should be brought into the set up.

[@ItaFootPod]

PREACH!!! //Nima

[@jonisilfverberg2788]

I disagree and pray Allegri will never get hes hands on NT or any other Italian team in the world anymore. Spain played 25 years ago Totally different football. They didnt have technicalty at all. They started concentrating on tiki taka and technical abilities starting from kids and every one trains the same way from a kid. Thats the way you get a NT like they have now. Do esatto like Spain.

[@ezeee595]

Allegri is a dinosaur and is clueless. Under him Juve played like Milan of 15 years ago. Allegri is one of the least progressive coaches in serie a. He should not be let anywhere near the national team.

[@jonisilfverberg2788]

@@ezeee595 Very well said

[@Pete_L77]

Italy's historic style of scoring a goal and immediately parking the bus, wasn't working anymore and needed to go. I hope they never return to that. Their offensive attacking minded approach to the 2020 Euros was a much welcomed breath of fresh air to so many fans. And they were successful. I think Italian football as a whole - from Serie A to the National team has very big problems that wouldn't get solved by becoming that ultra defensive style of old. We don't even have great defenders besides Bastoni and Calafiori. Our midfield is average at best, same for forwards. There are a lot of issues to address and quickly or we will be watching the 3rd world cup in a row from home!

[@Rossonero2712]

You quickly became my favorite podcast brothers, well done and keep it going! 👏🏼

[@ItaFootPod]

Thank you so much and welcome to the community

[@Episode_13]

Mancini was a great coach, look how he got Italy playing, was beautiful to watch in Euro 2021

[@DonQwantsyou]

but like all italy coaches he quit

[@ItaFootPod]

Ok, and how is that relevant to anything now?

[@ezeee595]

@@DonQwantsyou quit or forced to quit??

[@ZxrAlienWarrior]

I don't know if he's the right man for the job, I guess the 6 nations league games in September and October will tell us. If Spalletti insists on his way of playing then he should only call up players that fit that system and stick with it 100%, if he succeeds or fails it's on him. If he doesn't believe that there are not the players to play that system in Italia then he needs to pick the best players there are and a system that works / fits those players. If he can not do that he should do the right thing and resign! Forza Italia 🇮🇹💪

[@ItaFootPod]

Good point

[@hungchoonghow5857]

Ah, Italy. Always a roller coaster ride with you.

[@DonQwantsyou]

this one has generally been going DOWN for many years👎

[@ItaFootPod]

hahaha never a dull moment

[@DonQwantsyou]

What Italy need is a good coach not a lunatic who needs to call up a journalist at 2 AM to apologize for being a jackass at a postgame press conference. Mancini showed that its possible to compete at a high level internationally and even win a big tournament with out stars if you have a consistent plan , players who buy into it, depth, and time ( i think Mancini had 2 years with the team and a 25 game unbeaten run heading into Euro 2020). Spalletti obviously did not have all of these elements for success, injury and suspension problems as well. but he failed terribly in his expectations for this ragged group and set them up for failure with constant changing of formations and tactics, players, and not supporting them publically and in some cases insulting them ( note calling Scammacca lazy, others out of shape, tired, ect) ridiculous excuses. I'm worried about the future. Serie A will not give Italy youth champions a chance to start just loan them to lower divisions where they rot ( maybe they should go abroad to get experience, some are). IMO the Bosman ruling,(1995) which eliminated restrictions on europe national leagues from signing no more than 3 foreigners per club, ruined the possibility for italian players to develop into stars. Before with the restrictions serie A clubs were FORCED to sign and field at least 8 italian players per club, otherwise they could not field a team. Its no coincidence that Serie A RULED in the 90s as well as Italy national team in the 60s and 70s ( 1 Euro 2 WC finals 1 victory and 4th place in 1978) when there was a complete BAN on foreign imports in SerieA Because of this system Italy always produced stars. (Rivera, Riva , Rossi, Maldini, Baggio, Totti, Delpiero, Baresi, Cannavaro, Pirlo ect., ect) Now the last quarter century no more.. I know this is probably impossible today politically and economically( to revert back to foreign player restrictions) but Serie A clubs must be forced to field at least 4 italian players like for example in Germany and have second teams as you point out Milan and Atalanta now have to create a greater quality of italian player and a bigger pool of players from which to select for the Azzurri. England missed 3 WCs in the 70s and 90s. France also the same. Italy historically is better than these nations in soccer and can not allow this to happen again. Firing Gravina and Spalletti (dinosaurs) is a first step and replace them with younger and more energetic people with ideas. Great job on podcast, very thorough analysis

[@ItaFootPod]

Agreed

[@TheSupart91]

O yea mancini was a beast wherever he went he wasn't afraid to hurt feelings

[@picklepictures]

Great video. This is the salve we all need. Several hours of disgruntled, passionate analysis. Keep the content coming

[@ItaFootPod]

Thanks brother

[@Taporeee]

Thank you. I'm not Italian but wanted English discussion on what could be going wrong. Top and informative show. Thanks

[@ItaFootPod]

Thanks brother.

[@davidrizzuto2121]

I think one thing you guys should have empathized on is the fact a player like Calafiori spent a season in Switzerland, and one year later is starting for italy. it's a prime example of what young Italian players need to do now. Moving abroad if you don't get a chance in Serie A.

[@elitedog153]

Same with Gnonto. Other nations do it with their players. National teams with French, Belgium, Portuguese and Dutch players play abroad in the big leagues. Some from Germany and Spain do too. This is the way forward if both the Government and Seria A clubs don't pick young up and coming players.

[@elitedog153]

What I mean by the Italian Government is the tax incentives that they offer for clubs to select foreign players.

[@elitedog153]

Gravina OUT! Roberto Baggio wrote a 900 page report about the issues within Italian football after 2010 WC and it was dismissed. Baggio left and retired to his farm straight after.

[@DonQwantsyou]

@@elitedog153 no more now

[@ItaFootPod]

I dont think there's one uniform solution. All solutions are good.

[@Count_Deangeli]

It's hard from outside to pinpoint exactly what went wrong but Spalletti failures were shocking and hard to comprehend

[@ItaFootPod]

We'll prob know more soon

[@ezeee595]

@@Count_Deangeli where do we start from? Squad selection. Tactics. The way he was handling the media. The constant meddling with the line up. Arrogance. Acting like a club coach instead of a NT coach.

[@solomit1]

The 2006 WC win was the last team of great Italian players, ok they won the Euro & unbeaten run the problems is unless more Italian players with talent start playing for their clubs in series a they will continue to struggle, the Italian league will be benefiting all other nations except their own !

[@ItaFootPod]

Unfortunately such is the reality

[@satoshi_corner]

Trapattoni made Glenn Whelan look like prime Pirlo for two years

[@ItaFootPod]

One of the greatest

[@lordfoxtrot8330]

I've hardly predicted correctly a game in my life but when I saw the lineup against Switzerland, I knew it's over

[@DonQwantsyou]

of course

[@ItaFootPod]

Yeah I think everyone felt that way

[@man-guitar]

I don't understand why Chiesa is playing the right wing when he is more effective and scores more goals playinf left wing . In that position the net is 10 times larger.He has a great shot with his right foot and he has much more succes in the wing in the past.

[@ItaFootPod]

He's done well on the right before.

[@LUCATALKSBALL]

Great video 😊 we were so bad

[@ItaFootPod]

haha when did you have time to watch it? We just published it

[@LUCATALKSBALL]

@@ItaFootPod I watch it

[@CanisLupusItalicus]

I saw something interesting the other day about Italy’s problem of goal scoring. Because of the number of matches now in international play, many of the top teams all time leading scorers are current or recently retired players, but to find Italy’s all-time leading scorer one has to go back to 1974 the year that Luigi Riva’s career was completed . Riva is Italy’s all time scorer with 35. By comparison there are 80 countries who have a player with at least 50 goals. Maybe that just means the scoring has been more spread out, but it would be nice to have someone at the front who defenses feared. I would feel a lot more comfortable about future World Cup appearances.

[@ItaFootPod]

Interesting

[@thedoomaster14]

Don't worry gents, Tonali and Camarda are coming

[@w1572w]

Camarda will be loaned to serie c and b teams for years to come. I hope this guy don't burn out before his 23rd birthday. Thats how the big 3 destroys young italians.

[@robTuscan]

I am a Juventus fan but totally Milan, Inter, Juventus& even Napoli they all killing Italian youth talent and Italy is only watching. I am so disappointed

[@Mezzo396]

Given Italys record of getting youth into real teams, Camarda will be a 27 year old when he starts for a big team and will play against a 12 year old from Mallorca whos already had 2 tournament starts for Spain and we'll cry why we dont have any talent

[@ItaFootPod]

From your mouth to Diego's ears //Nima

[@robTuscan]

@@Mezzo396 100% unfortunately

[@mustsilm]

One thing i dont understand, Kante plays in Arabia and starts, Laporte plays in Arabia and starts. Meanwhile Verratti doesnt. He is 31. Laporte is 30. Kante is 33. Other nations are not afraid to call up Saudi Arabia players. Of course the level is not same but Cristante is not better than Verratti and its idiotic to start Fagioli if it was his first game under Spalletti. How is that good preparation? I like Fagioli as a juventini but he was banned since October. He literally played 1 game in May before season ended. This is not 2006 when Lippi waited and gave his word when Totti had a injury before the tournament which kept him out 4-5 months. That was then and that was Totti who was established player. Italy hope this euro midfield was Fagioli?

[@kkunleashed7991]

Kante plays in Saudi, Verratti plays in Qatar. They are completely different levels. It would be like comparing the English and Scottish league. If Verratti had gone to Saudi instead and was playing well, he likely would of been called up for the Euro's

[@ItaFootPod]

Because Verratti isnt exactly living a professional life style compared to Kante

[@humptydumpty20]

I agree with most of the analysis but not about the one with Chiesa. He was played out of position. He was one of the few Italian players who always tried to perform whenever he wears the Italy shirt.

[@ItaFootPod]

It cant always be everyone else's fault but Chiesa's

[@humptydumpty20]

@@astanco1574 He was deployed out of position. Spalletti should have let him play on the left. He is much more effective and accurate cutting in from the left and shooting with his right foot.

[@diluviudiluvescu7753]

Allegri for NT?! It fits PERFECTLY. Cons/pros: 1. Needs already formed players. Chosing players that are good here and now. Can't teach football. 2. Simple and primitive ideas. 3. Low-intensity play style. 4. Motivates players to "suffer" (in defense) for the result. 5. Good at cup format competitions. Every con at the club level becomes a pro at the NT level. *For the first time I'm on your side, Nima, when we speak about Allegri :D

[@ItaFootPod]

PREACH

[@guruvince7517]

The only way out of this mess is for the FIGC to finally start giving incentives for Serie A clubs to field Italian youth players, rather than buying has been vets or cheap Balkan players. It’s crazy, you watch a serie A game, and there may be 3-4 Italians out of 22. I’ve been watching a lot of the youth, and it’s no question that Italy is producing some (if not the best) talent in Europe right now. If the FIGC is not willing to do this, then agents/families need to start pushing the youth to leave Italy & try breakout in lower leagues. We are already seeing this (Calafiori/pafundi who left to go Swiss league, Natali, Inacio, Gnonto etc). Sad to see Italian football in this state man. Great podcast non the less

[@christiansahlberg4924]

You are absolutely right. Make it mandatory, let's say there has always to be at least one italian under 21 on the field in every team. That way also the top teams need to have two three young ones in the squad. If Spalletti says he will focus on the young ones, he will fail. Why? The national team has to take the best players in the nation because the qualification for the world cup starts too soon again. There is no time to work with young players. The clubs have to work with the young ones, they have to get them ready for the national team. If they are good enough, Spalletti can take them. Now he took the best ones he could, more or less. The failure was he forced them not to play with 3-5-2, the system almost ALL his players were accustomed to. Of the top teams only Milan and Napoli played a different system, and he had ONE player from there. And he had a bad season too...

[@ItaFootPod]

Agreed

[@w1572w]

Great podcast. Totally agree with pathway problem for young players. Regarding no. 9 Scamacca, Raspa n Retegui are in the squad because only Lucca, Pinamonti and over the hill Immobile were their competetion in serie A. Whose else is there??

[@ItaFootPod]

Thanks! Glad you liked it.

[@anthonymazzone9281]

After reading the report from GIFN about Spalletti I don’t understand how he still has the job. Factions within the squad, not believing in his training methods and tactics, it doesn’t make sense how he’s still employed.

[@ItaFootPod]

IF these reports are true btw

[@cianog]

GIFN??

[@John12785]

Great summary boys, good podcast. Agree with most but; 1.Gravina and Spalletti must go, ones a criminal the other an idiot. 2.The fact Milan and Napoli have one Italian each says volumes. 3.Every midfielder in this Euro 24' must go, including the immensely overrated Barella, and Fagoli was terrible!! The attack was poor but had no supply, midfield couldnt even get it over halfway line!! Lol

[@ItaFootPod]

Thanks man 1) Agree but we dont think that will happen 2) Napoli will have more under Conte (Buongiorno, Spinazzola) 3) Profoundly disagree re Barella and Fagioli

[@alenabayti5622]

Barrela ordinary overated player, spaletti weak cauch, put simone indzagi

[@Fab-ig4xn]

Regarding the pathway - are we saying (generally speaking) that up until a certain point young Italian players are as good as their Spanish and French counterparts but are then lost due to there not being a pathway?

[@jonisilfverberg2788]

I strongly believe so. The u19 and u17 shows it. Also u21. For this Italy has to make the changed in all levels needed inside the country. Gather a group of people to pin point all the problems and get to work Ragazzi

[@Fab-ig4xn]

@@jonisilfverberg2788 I'd love to believe this, but I think even at youth levels, Italy have issues in bringing through technical players who can dribble. I know that this Liberali kid at Milan bucks that trend, but you get my point.

[@ItaFootPod]

No we are just raising the issue. Like something is not on

[@nipungupta5511]

They can make a rule that all teams in serie a must have at least 3 Italian players.

[@ItaFootPod]

That's an interesting suggestion

[@nipungupta5511]

@@ItaFootPod we have this in the cricket league in India, only 2-3 foreigners allowed in the starting 11

[@vanderpant2116]

Good idea.... But I think the breaches EU law.

[@Tony-lt2jr]

There is news coming out of Italy that the players hated Spalletti. Gabe Marcotti explained really well why Spalletti isn’t the right manager for this team on Espn. What have you guys heard?

[@ItaFootPod]

Seen these reports too. We'll discuss this on Thursday

[@pasqgrasso]

@@ItaFootPod Yes please do. Immediately after the game I said that the lack of collective spirit and the lack of desire to actually play signalled that something was wrong in the camp - and hey presto it turns out to be true!! I knew there was something wrong because they had the same body language and lack of cohesion on the pitch as they did in the 2014 World Cup, where we learned afterwards that Cassano and Ballotelli destroyed the atmosphere in the dressing room. BTW, completely agree with your comments on players like El Sharaawy and Cristante. Both of these players played against England in 2023 and both demonstrated they are woefully inadequate against top level opponents.

[@veeforvendetta4126]

Lots of interesting points. Reality is there are no quick fixes. This has been on the cards for years. The reality is we are likely 3rd seeds for World Cup qualifiers. Meaning we will have to get a draw and win against one of the big teams to even be confident of getting out of the group. Is that likely to happen. I very much doubt it. Signing ageing players for a quick fix solution instead of giving kids a realistic chance is hopeless. Serie A is an elephants graveyard.

[@ItaFootPod]

Spot on

[@mikemarto1936]

Love your podcast... How does France play more like Italy than we do?? They have world class players and aren't obsessed with playing beautiful just winning. Somewhere between 2010 and 2012 we became obsessed with playing like Spain, like their way was the only way of playing....How we forget that Italy with an aging team basically nullified Spain in 2008 and they were lucky to win on penalties. If we win their run never begins. We need to go back to playing like Italy. Strong defense, lethal forwards, counter attacks and above all grinta!!! We need to play like Italy and not try be another nation! Time to get back to our roots!

[@DonQwantsyou]

yeah but Italy no longer produce the quality or type of players needed to play that style anymore

[@mikemarto1936]

They clearly don't have the quality to play like Spain which requires more technical skill

[@jonisilfverberg2788]

The football has changed and you cant play against high intensity teams like Spain by parking a bus. Spain is able to score Many goal in every game. This id Where you have to go. By parking a bus and being able to make one goal you dont go far anymore in NT football. Italy must train kids from child to become technical and score goals and Want to score goals 2 or 3 per game instead of just 1. Its the best defend to make 3 goals to opposition net.

[@ItaFootPod]

Thanks brother

[@mikes8205]

I’m sorry but I’m not giving up on Chiesa yet. Didn’t play LW at all this tournament and barely got any downhill 1 on 1s. He also didn’t have another winger opposite him to widen the field.

[@ItaFootPod]

Hope youre right

[@calciofan828]

Quick question: is that interview with the Italian youth set up going to be broadcasted on this channel?

[@ItaFootPod]

Yes that is the idea

[@calciofan828]

Thanks. That’ll be interesting.

[@ItaFootPod]

@@calciofan828 Thanks. basically we try to make all interview episodes free for all together with the Monday review show. Then Q & A from paying members + reaction pods + the monday & interviews available for patrons on patreon.com/tifp for 2.99/month

[@DonQwantsyou]

also the Italy teams you mentioned with great success in Euros between 2012 and 2021, ( 2 finals 1 EUROCUP, and one quarterfinal lost on PKs) all had one common element, Chiellini ( probably the best defender in world for 15 years) and Bonucci, pillars of Juventus defense and a club that won 9 consecutive scudettos ( a world record for major world soccer leagues). This year Italy did not have either one. 🧐

[@Pete_L77]

Nor did we have a midfield or forwards. Big holes throughout.

[@ItaFootPod]

Italy's defence and cm is good. But the attack....

[@ppp-jq3sk]

I don’t agree about the lack of quality in our players, if you watch the Serie A you know that our players individually are much stronger than what a team like Sweden has. The problem with our team was with management, the psychological state of the players and absence of key players due to injuries or in the case of Tonali illegal betting

[@ItaFootPod]

Sweden are dreadful.

[@bikramjitpunia6996]

Allegri is the best coach available at the moment. He is good tactically and good man manager. We have only 2 years until world cup and I hope we do qualify for it but giving spalleti 3-4months is a big risk. A huge risk because that means we won't be able to get a good coach with in such short time.

[@ItaFootPod]

Agreed

[@gabr131s]

I agree with everything you guys said on this pod, yes Locatelli should have been in the squad over Cristante 100%. Only think I don’t agree on is both of your takes on Orsolini. He is in his prime form off a season playing for Motta’s Bologna who came third, scoring 10 goals this season. He would have brought cutting edge to Italy, and you could see him not being there actually made our attacking options look so flat. He would have brought something different being a left footed attacker. That’s my one thing, I feel as though many people overlooked Orsolini and I don’t get why. For me it’s sad not seeing the 3 at the back system with Buongiorno as sweeper and Bellanova as right wing.. it was a logical system that would have suited Italy better. Also good points about the fitness and sports science, but don’t forget Calafiori has come back from ACL to right knee, and he is looking as fit as ever!! I really hope Orsolini, Tonali and Colpani keep improving and make World Cup squad, and I want to see young players like Camarda,Fabbian, Cassedei, Pafundi, Baldanzi and Liberali improving to be in with a shout at least!!

[@ItaFootPod]

Thanks man

[@gabr131s]

@@ItaFootPodappreciate all your takes though guys thanks for your work 👏🏼👏🏼 let’s hope Italy comes back strong and addresses a lot of these issues in the next couple years

[@DonQwantsyou]

excellent points

[@gabr131s]

@@DonQwantsyou 🙏🏼

[@cianog]

What did Spalletti do at Roma or Inter? A championship at Napoli at 64 doesn’t make you a genius

[@mfaizl1810]

agreeed, still remeber his time at inter tactics cross to icardi Insya Allah ball. The guy got bailed at napoli because Kvara Kim and Oshimen suit his formation. Di canio won Chelsea UCL but thats not make him a genius manager.

[@ItaFootPod]

He did well at Roma and he brought Inter back into the UCL after almost a decade away.

[@cianog]

@@ItaFootPod He was manager of Roma when they lost 7-1 against Manu in the CL.

[@Jlino77]

Regista: Rovella trust me!

[@ItaFootPod]

Yeah we didnt mean to overlook him. He should def be in the mix too

[@cianog]

Spalletti was manager of Roma when they got destroyed 7-1 in the CL by Manchester united. I don't want a manager who let that happen to remain in charge of Italy.

[@ItaFootPod]

Who can forget

[@mathewmathew288]

The Italian discrimination thing was random, i cant imagine the papers in England showing a photo pouring curry over an Indian cricket players head in a simiilar situation. There is a youtube channel called IFTV and the way these Americans pronounce some words in an overly exaggerated italian accent is also pretty offensive, again I cant imagine a bunch of English youtubers putting on mock indian accents when saying cricket players names

[@ItaFootPod]

Agreed

[@amjedgazdar7049]

I never thought I would say this but Allegri would have done better with this squad. At least with Allegri's frustrating football, we get eliminated with no humiliation or we qualify with luck

[@ItaFootPod]

100%

[@cianog]

The performance against Switzerland is the worst I’ve seen since 88.

[@ItaFootPod]

94 for me but point taken

[@cianog]

​​​​@@ItaFootPod You mean Ireland? We are talking about different levels of performance. A bad result can happen and your team can be below par; what happened against Switzerland was akin to what happened against Brazil in 2014 when they went to pieces against Germany.

[@just_a_yokai1103]

we don't have good wingers, I'd play a 442 Diamond Donnarumma Scalvini/Calafiori - Bastoni Kayode - Udogie Fagioli Barella - Tonali Pellegrini/Baldanzi Sacmacca - Raspadori something like this could work and the U17 played like this, obviously this wouldn't be the formation that we know of Spalletti but who knows...he may surprise us

[@ItaFootPod]

Interesting

[@gatorbomb7472]

Before even Blaming Spalletti, we need to find a way of producing talents up front. This is just another disappointment we’re seeing since the decline of Italian football in 2006. Gravina is the first to blame and should have stepped down. Calcio is sick and dying.

[@ItaFootPod]

Im sure we can multitask no?

[@gatorbomb7472]

@@ItaFootPod Donadoni, Lippi, Prandelli, Ventura, Mancini, Spalletti are the coaches we’ve had since 2006. Some good names and some less so, the main issue has been the same for all of them. We don’t produce the players we use too especially in attack.

[@OvieSnips8]

The dressing was divided because of Spalletti and that is not good for the future.

[@ItaFootPod]

We've seen the reports

[@Episode_13]

Di Marco has to play in this team!

[@ItaFootPod]

Dimarco can play in a system that suits him like at Inter. Listen again

[@Episode_13]

@@ItaFootPod just an opinion haha, I don't agree with a lot of your takes, great pod though :)

[@tomdreler6528]

The Answer ist Jose Mourinho! Preparing for the Backlash...

[@ItaFootPod]

hahaha bring him in!!

[@chubbs_malone7268]

Throw the whole team in the trash can except for Donnarumma and Calafiori. Send the u-19s to the world cup

[@ItaFootPod]

haha bit harsh

[@roccoa6818]

Disagree with Ireland at least they were competitive that game and a fluky goal sank us no comparison to this game

[@ItaFootPod]

They really weren't.

[@glenjoke10]

Why are people have this mentality this was completely different roster with the exception of a few players. They played in the toughest group and got out of the group stage. Should appreciate they acheive that with how much turnover was from the previous tournament

[@ItaFootPod]

Disagree brother

[@askme2985]

No, no. This is the reports coming out of Italy. I knew watching these games there was something seriously wrong. When I watched the games I said to myself, they look confused. Well, that's because they were confused. The news may come as a blow to several Italy stars, though, amid reports of unhappiness within their camp in Iserlohn. According to La Repubblica, part of the squad felt distanced from Spalletti and his ideas during the tournament. Several players are said to have been left confused by his tactics and training methods, leading to a lack of commitment during sessions. The report adds that multiple small groups formed within the dressing room, with Spalletti lacking a leader to bring the squad together. Other players accused Spalletti of a lack of preparation and claimed there was no intensity in his style of play. It came after they were left shocked by a series of tactical alterations to the team just two hours before their final group match against Croatia. Spalletti's late decision is understood to have left some players feeling excluded from the side.

[@LUCATALKSBALL]

Was.wondering if I can come in your podcast

[@BadselS]

Like through a door?

[@BadselS]

You can come in Nima's room during recording, give him a good scare

[@LUCATALKSBALL]

@@BadselS ok

[@ItaFootPod]

We'll see brother

[@nickrossi_ny]

Comments on Chiesa are absolutely bullshit. He was the ONLY player in the entire team that had any sort of inspiration and will to make shit happen in the attack. His acl injury talk still is ridiculous. The dude still runs faster and harder than everyone on the team. He’s surrounded by a shit team, as a winger or striker you’re only as good as your team unfortunately .

[@ItaFootPod]

Nonsense.

[@coastalbrake8886]

Oh God, please do a little homework before shows. El Sha had more goals and assists last year than Zaccagni. If I'm in Spaletti's position why on earth would I discard that information?

[@ItaFootPod]

Please watch the games before talking nonsense. Zaccagni was way better this tournament than SES

[@coastalbrake8886]

​@@ItaFootPod so facts are nonsense now? I don't know, maybe you never took a math class and are afraid of statistics? Be honest.

[@cianog]

Italian football never elevated the game like the French, Spanish, Dutch or Brazilians. We would produced top defenders and good No9s or 10s. Our football was never attacking or creative, so any talented players that emerged was in spite of this philosophy and not part of our youth development like those other nations. Now that doesn’t happen anymore we are scrambling.

[@DonQwantsyou]

yeah but why were italy good before? because those top defenders and attackers were produced in a Serie A that didn't have 70% foreign players. all good players come out of youth development. In the old days that's where the baggio, Totti, del Piero, Maldini, Vieri, Rossi, Baresi ,ect came from. The difference was they were given a chance because at that time clubs were limited to playing only 2 or 3 foreign players per club.

[@cianog]

@@DonQwantsyou You have a point on the number of foreigners, but youth players do get a chance in smaller clubs. A good number just don't look good enough.

[@ItaFootPod]

Interesting point

[@abrahamh6106]

36:30

[@ItaFootPod]

?

[@abrahamh6106]

I'm bookmarking where I left off. Finishing the podcast now!

[@BadselS]

Allegri IN 🥶

[@ItaFootPod]

Corto muso time

[@jonisilfverberg2788]

Allegri has destroyed careers of important Italian players for national team Chiesa, Bernardeschi and Locatelli. All these three guys in their previous clubs were superb. Italiano and De Zerbi were the coaches.

[@BadselS]

@@jonisilfverberg2788 chiesa is damaged goods, nobody destroyed him

[@silverwave2238]

Worst team since 1986 wc one, worst performance since the the 2010 wc group exit imo

[@ItaFootPod]

1994 vs Ireland was worse but that Italy side had quality and bounced back.

[@sallysal6966]

Can you both stop cutting each other when talking? Its so bad and irritating to hear

[@ItaFootPod]

Sure Sally. Our bad. We'll think about it

[@stewartkatz2936]

Sorry but tonali is over rates way over hyped. Hope he learns how to play quickly in England cause he’s too slow a wanna b pirlo

[@ItaFootPod]

He's not a regista though. Just because he looks like Pirlo doesnt mean he has to play like Pirlo =)

[@Episode_13]

Elshaarawy had a good season, and was good when he started, why do people keep attacking him, Elsharaawy was good!

[@ItaFootPod]

Eh...no.

[@Episode_13]

@@ItaFootPod Actually had a go at the Swiss and got a few free kicks, he ran at defenders is my point :) Great player! Maybe not at the highest level now, but worth a shot!

[@alenabayti5622]

Mediocre squad and couch

[@ItaFootPod]

yeah dont buy mediocre couches, IKEA has comfortable ones, not too expensive.

[@alenabayti5622]

@@ItaFootPod cauch what the wrong with you? you di lorenzo??

[@ItaFootPod]

@@alenabayti5622 haha calm down was just joking with you on your typo