The president of the Italian Football Federation, Gabriele Gravina, expressed on Monday his confidence in the coach, Luciano Spalletti, despite Italy’s poor performance in the Eurocup, where they were eliminated in the round of 16 by Switzerland.
“When we chose him, it seemed like we had selected the best coach available in the market. We were all excited. Absolute trust in Luciano after seeing how he works,” he stated on ‘Radio Anchio Sport.’
Gravina also pointed out that Italy’s lack of young talent is one of the reasons why the team has not been competitive in recent years.
“We would give Spalletti the time he needs to achieve results, knowing that, for various reasons, our pool of eligible players is limited compared to other countries: we have a quarter of the players available compared to Spain,” he explained.
Italy will face France on Saturday and Israel on Monday in the opening matches of the Nations League, crucial to secure a spot in the upcoming World Cup, a tournament the national team has not participated in since 2014.
«Italy must be among the top seeds in the World Cup, and the Nations League is the first step on a two-year journey,» Gravina noted.
He also discussed potential reforms in Italian football, including the implementation of VAR at the request of coaches and effective game time adjustments.
«The sport needs to innovate without distorting or violating its nature. We have always expressed our willingness to experiment with certain projects: VAR, requested by coaches, would eliminate a series of controversies associated with certain judgments that are not always correct or consistent by the referee,» he commented.
Regarding effective game time adjustments, Gravina mentioned the implications for television and radio broadcasters in not knowing the exact duration of matches and the potential impact on programming schedules.
The article also touches on the topic of Italy as a keyword.
