From the big occasion to total disaster. Italy closed early one of the worst European campaigns in its history, in which it can save, perhaps, the first half with Albania and Zaccagni's goal with Croatia. The rest was a real cry both from the point of view of the game and the results, therefore the defeat against Switzerland, much clearer than the final 2-0, should not surprise us too much. The trials, which already started last night in the heat of the moment, will go crazy between now and the next few days and who knows what Gravina-Spalletti duo, expected today at the press conference, cannot provide any twists (currently excluded), but the mix of anger and disappointment will soon give way to the real problem: what is the future of this national team?
Switzerland – Italy 2-0: Azzurri disastrous and never in the match, elimination without excuses
The 2-0 in Berlin, the result of goals from Freuler (37') and Vargas (46'), is just the tip of the iceberg of a disastrous European, in which Italy has never managed to propose a convincing idea of football, lost between Spalletti's confusion and the lack of personality of a group who are also on the ground from a physical point of view. There's no point in going around it, nothing worked and this is a terrible starting point for the "2026 World Cup project", which the Azzurri cannot miss out on for any reason. The coach, as we will see shortly, said it openly in the press conference, but it was already understood from his formation choices, always different both in terms of men and in the game system. Nobody expected the "nursery rhymes" of the past (Zoff, Gentile, Cabrini etc.), but turning the team around three times out of four is frankly too much: and so, after the 4-2-3-1 seen against Albania and Spain and the 3 -5-2 anti-Croatia, here is yesterday's 4-3-3 with Mancini, Cristante, Fagioli and El Shaarawy, leaving only Vicario, Meret, Buongiorno and Gatti without running time. Spalletti has tried practically all of them without finding answers from almost anyone, which denotes an even alarming general paucity, but also an inadequacy for the role of coach, very different from that of coach.
Gravina collects flops, Spalletti Coach is not convincing: is it right to start from them again?
The coach from Certaldo was unable to instill even a drop of his football, so much so that comparing his diktats (high pressing, control of the game, short defenses, ferocious re-aggression) with the numbers of yesterday's first half (58% to 42 of ball possession, 10 shots to 1, 0.80 of Expected Goals to 0.13) would even make you smile, if it weren't for the fact that there is absolutely nothing to be happy about. What was also striking was the total lack of reaction, almost as if the specter of going out in the round of 16, moreover with the same Switzerland that had already denied us the World Cup, didn't scare anyone, apart from the millions of Italians in front of the TV. The flat encephalogram, in these cases, is the worst evil, that's why it is worth asking ourselves whether it makes sense to insist on this technical project, both as regards the coach (who, as previously mentioned, is a field coach and not a selector) that the federal president Gravina, immune to all the failures of recent years. Today we will know more (the two will speak in the press conference), but the image of the players challenged and "bouncing" in the locker rooms is very indicative: the six thousand in Berlin, in fact, represented the millions in front of TVs and giant screens, fed up and indignant at such littleness.
Spalletti takes the blame, but doesn't resign: "I had little time"
“They are players that I chose and I have the responsibility for them, even if I only had ten matches – explained Spalletti -. I need more knowledge to get the best, also I have had several injuries. Switzerland deserved it, the goal at the start of the second half cut our legs and we were not very incisive. The difference was made by the slower pace than them in the first half and also in individual players, there was a different pace. The national team has the future of trying to make different choices, we need people who have more ability. Young people? If they have the potential to seat others, I am the first one who has to give them space. I come away with the certainty that I have to change something, even if it's not as scandalous a result as it turns out. Today, as with Spain, we played a below-level match, but against Croatia it wasn't scandalous. It is not an alibi, but rather a failure determined by my choices and my behavior. But I haven't had much experience to practice and it's clear that you need more skill to play well."
Donnarumma: “Coming out like this hurts, we apologize to everyone”
“It hurts, very badly – confirmed Captain Donnarumma without mincing words -. We apologize to everyone, we disappointed and they deserved it, there's nothing else to say. The elimination is right and the way it came out is very hard to digest. The first half went terribly, then we had to react in the second and instead we immediately conceded the second goal. What if the courage was lacking? Everything was missing, the quality, the courage...”. “There is little to save, they put us under physically and organizationally – echoed Cristante -. It's early to draw conclusions, but we deservedly go home. Now we need to clean our heads and start again next year with a different attitude and energy. When you see that there is so much difference in organization and play, energy also disappears. There is little to save as I said, we deservedly go home."
