Only 57 kilometres separate Certaldo, his hometown, and the Coverciano Federal Training Centre, where Luciano Spalletti is preparing to start his new adventure as Head Coach of the Italian National Team. A short distance for a journey of over thirty years, from when he started his coaching career with the Empoli youth team in 1993. A long journey that has seen him cross borders, winning two leagues and two cups in Russia, before his final step in Naples. There, he was able to deliver the Scudetto that Napoli fans had been dreaming of since the playing days of a certain Diego Armando Maradona. 

And now a new challenge awaits the Tuscan coach, who together with his staff and FIGC President Gabriele Gravina, met the press for his baptism as Coach in the Aula Magna of Coverciano, with some 70 journalists, the federal leadership, the new head of the delegation Gigi Buffon and also Zvonimir Boban, UEFA Chief of Football. 

“Today a new chapter of Azzurri history begins, a long and important history that has excited millions of Italians,” said Gravina after dedicating a thought to the victims of the tragedy in Brandizzo and all victims of accidents at work. “A new chapter in an untold story of our sporting experience opens, and the Luciano Spalletti era begins. In just a few days, we had to remedy a major and unforeseen crisis, unprecedented in some ways. A crisis faced in silence and with style: we wanted to give priority to the Azzurri jersey, putting the value of our national team first.  We did not want to put these values before our personal prerogatives and the hint of disappointment which is useless to deny and stays with you. We wanted to give the Azzurri a coach of great prestige and we succeeded. On a coaching level, I don’t have to say anything about Spalletti, his story is clear in terms of his professional value and the quality of the game he plays as well as the maturity he has developed in recent years. What struck me was the human side, which we had the insight to invest in. I have come to appreciate Luciano as a person who devotes all his sentimental capacity for total sacrifice to everything he loves: total sacrifice to his family, to the people he is close to, to his country and to the game of football, to which he dedicates a large chunk of his life. His identity is his hallmark.” The federal president spoke about how the coach was immediately excited at the idea of becoming the head coach: “When we met, Luciano said to me: ‘President, let’s not waste time. Do your thinking but don’t take advantage of me, I want to coach the National Team.’ This is an incredible business card, it says everything about his enthusiasm for the role. Italy doesn’t only have a great coach, but also a great person. I hope we can support him in adding another feather to his cap, this time an Azzurro feather.” 

THE HEAD COACH’S COMMENTS. “Thank you to all of the Federation, first and foremost to President Gravina for giving me this incredible role. I’ve spent a lot of time in this place, at the university of football but to be here at the press conference for my presentation as Italy manager is an inexplicable emotion. It is a dream that goes way back, I was 11 when I asked my mum to sew me an Italian flag after Italy’s 4-3 win over Germany at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico. I will now take this flag back to the bench and I hope to revive that dream in all the thousands of children who watch the national team.” 

Spalletti won’t have long to settle into the role, given that in just over a week, the Azzurri will face North Macedonia and Ukraine. Two very important matches for the new head coach, whose first aim will be to pursue the path to EURO 2024, starting out with these two qualifiers. Even before seeing any results, he wants to establish a sense of togetherness in the group: “I’m searching for happiness because we need it. In general, I am unable to be happy on my own, I can’t find that happiness if I don’t see the people around me happy as well. Napoli was a great joy for me because I brought the people of Naples great joy. The players must also find joy in wearing the Italy shirt, we must shout our joy at wearing such an important and historical jersey from the rooftops. De Rossi once said ‘I have two shirts, the one from my club and the one from the national team, which I am always wearing under my club shirt’. We have Italian legends who have shown us exactly what this sense of togetherness means, I’m thinking of the likes of Mazzola, Rivera, Riva, Baggio”.

The 21st head Coach in history, Spalletti cites the former managers who lifted the World Cup trophy (“Pozzo, Bearzo, and Lippi showed us the way, we need to follow in their footsteps”), mentions Gianluca Vialli (“he will always be with us in the changing room”) and speaks kidly of his predecessor: “I inherited a good team from Mancini, who won the Euros and set the record number of games played without losing. He launched the careers of many youngsters, discovering talents that could be useful to us. Now we need to let go of the disappointment of those two results and distance ourselves from the idea that we have played a lesser football, something that does not line up with our great history. And try to go out and play football that will please everyone.”

Yesterday, on his first day as the Head Coach, he named his first squad. There were no big surprises, with just one new name in Lazio defender Nicolò Casale, who got a taste for the Azzurri shirt during a number of internships dedicated to players of national interest. However, certain players from the Euro-winning squad are absent: Bonucci, Verratti, and Jorginho. But for them, like everyone, the door isn’t shut forever: “We need to go play two extremely important matches, we need international levels of experience.” The decision for two roles has also been decided based on physical condition: “At the stage of the season, minutes played is fundamental. I’ve left out Jorginho and Verratti, for example, because they haven’t had the preparation necessary to take part.”. Speaking on what will be the identity of his National team, he stated “We will start with a 4-3-3 and then if we need to, we can shift to a 4-2-3-1. We want to play with four at the back, some players have been chosen because they play in this set-up at their club. We need to be a squad that tries to take possession of the ball. Only two things count in football: pressure and build-up, the rest will follow”. As for playmakers other than Locatelli, he mentions Cristante (“He’s playing magnificently, he has the physicality that can help you to progress the game in certain moments”), and given the shortage of centre0forwards, Spalletti could look to experiment with other solutions: “It seems that we have a lot of potential going forward that needs exploiting, there are one or two players that can cover a central attacking role even if they have always played in other positions”. For his first squad list he decided to pick out three forwards who are very different from each other, Immobile, Retegui, and Raspadori: “It is clear that the physical forward has very precise skills, but maybe Raspadori is better at working as a team. I didn’t choose Kean or Scamacca because of game time”.

Spalletti stated that it will be fundamental to work alongside the clubs (“We shouldn’t ever be in conflict, I will try to maintain contact with each coach”), the Head Coach opens up discussion on oriundi players (“They may not have documents in their pocket, but they want to represent our history”) and he shuts down the question about his contract with Napoli: “Nothing will make me doubt that I made the right decision. There are things that we need to put straight that our lawyers are working on and I hope to find the best solution for both parties as soon as possible. Napoli was an amazing experience, something all-consuming. I have amazing memories”.

However, now he is looking at the present, a present that is Azzurri in colour and will see him represent an entire nation. “Maybe I am not the best coach possible for the Azzurri”, his impactful final words, “but I will be the best Spalletti possible”.