Every word Spalletti said on Italy changes, Croatia, Dimarco and Di Lorenzo | OneFootball

Here’s every word Luciano Spalletti said during a pre-match press conference on the eve of a key EURO 2024 match against Croatia.

The Azzurri coach addressed the media, including Football Italia, in Leipzig where the Azzurri will meet Croatia tomorrow evening.

A win or a draw is enough to qualify for the Round of 16, but Croatia must win to go through. Here’s every word Spalletti told reporters.

APPROACH – “There are games that make your history big or tiny. When I met these players at their clubs, I saw their desire to be here, and this availability became a willingness to play these matches. I’ve seen an attitude that I like, but obviously, I didn’t like the performance the other day. We took a step back. But when you deal with opponents that are chosen by a country, the level is always high. Any country can put together 20 players with technique and experience and I expect to see what that game [against Spain] has taught us.”

“Talk is cheap, you have to walk the walk rather than talk the talk because we were not able to show certain things we said against Spain. We need to walk the walk and leave talk to one side.”

ITALY’S ENERGY – “We have not been saving our performance at all. On the contrary, we expended a lot of energy by chasing the ball vs. Spain. Against Albania it was different. But we tried to do the same things in both games. In one game, we did it; in the other one, we didn’t. It’s simple. Therefore, we must see if we have learned something and are good at putting what we want to do into practice. We want to play our game even if Croatia have more experience and, to some extent, more technical. Aside from the game’s pace, there will be moments when we’ll need to slow down. We must understand the moments, be good at improving the pace and when we must slow down and keep a simple possession not to let the opponent do it.”

POTENTIAL CHANGES – “After a game like that, of course, there is an idea to try to change the team a little bit. I probably made a mistake in not mixing up things quicker in terms of the performance we produced [against Albania]. I thought it was so good that it would have been a gamble to tweak anything. Now that we’ve noticed there is a bit of fatigue, we will certainly change some things.

“We’ll actually change our approach in some ways. We need guarantees in terms of continuity in terms of how we play. This is what the match requires. We will try to have substance and maybe play uglier but have greater substance, so make sure they don’t tap into their ability. We also want to play in their own half and not sit back, which is always risky. We want to keep the ball.

“Everything is possible. We brought all these players here, so anything is possible, but wingers that dribble past opponents and are good in one-on-one also need substance to play as they want to. You need to get the right shape, be tidy on the pitch and allow wingers to engage in one-on-one duels.”

MEETING PERISIC AND BROZOVIC AFTER THEIR SPELL AT INTER – “Everything they have can make a difference in a football game. They have running volume, quality, and experience; they have all the things needed to make a team pretty. They have a few years because they have a lot of experience. They are both strong footballers and I remember them well. I am on good terms with them. We still text each other once in a while and I love them as much as when I was their coach, so I’ll be happy to see them again. I am convinced they will cause trouble for us, but this is what football is about. We’ll see if we’ll be able to make our freshness count. We must challenge them on intensity because they’ll need to recover sometimes. They are two great people and excellent footballers.”

ITALY LACK OF QUALITY? – “I like this group. When I imagined it, I thought we could do great things. We’ve made an analysis of our path with the team because we must look at what we have achieved. There is a need to take some more steps to do all we told each other, but we don’t have this time, so we must summarise and be ready because these games make your history big or small.”

ITALY’S HISTORIC QUALITIES – “I think in today’s football, teams must be able to do more than one thing. Sometimes we’ll be forced to defend with 11 players with a low block. But when we win the ball, we must be quick to counter-attack without allowing them to defend properly. A few years ago, you could make it for the whole game, but in today’s football, I think it’s more difficult to defend with a low block for the whole game. All national teams have players who play in every top team. Actually, we are a team that needs to have players who go aboard and make an experience in top teams in Europe.”

DIMARCO OUT? – “Dimarco is fit again, so he’s available for selection, but we will have a fitness test tomorrow morning to confirm what we’ve seen. Everything points to the fact that he’ll be available tomorrow night.”

PSYCHOLOGICAL RECOVERY – “It’s easy. If we don’t get a result, we go home. It’s this easy. They know it well. We must be realistic and direct. We must make some quick steps forward to earn merit in life, it’s all quick. You must be quick to get on the train, or you’ll go walking.”

DI LORENZO – “It’s easy for me because he’s like my son in terms of how much time we’ve spent together. I always struggle to do without a player of Di Lorenzo’s ability. Of course, there are things I need to analyse, but I really believe in the ability of the man and the player. I don’t need to talk to him too much because there is a direct understanding. We talk, yes, but we understand everything and you see immediately the player’s attitude when he returns to the pitch.”

JORGINHO – “I know Jorginho less than Di Lorenzo. Now I have this camera always looking at me, perfect. He was probably under par v. Spain, but it all comes down to how the team plays as a whole. If we are able to keep the ball possession, great, but if we can’t, poor Jorginho, it is not his fault. It’s my fault. This is what football is about. Jorginho has an incredible ability that none of the other players have. He tells everyone how to behave and we don’t have many of these players on the pitch.  However, there are players who are pushing and have probably more energy than what Jorginho may naturally offer. He’s born with those qualities and with other issues, let’s call them this way. He can’t score many headers, but when he leads the team, he has this quality. We still strongly rely on Jorginho regardless of whether he plays or not for 45 minutes more.”

CAMBIASO – “I saw him well even if he dragged himself into positions that were not required, but it’s understandable. I’ve picked these players. Cambiaso seems like a smart guy to me, but I need to know him better. He knows how to cover more roles, and he can fit into this football team that is like a family.”