Italy coach Luciano Spalletti said Saturday that he was aiming to restore the spirit of past national teams at his first press conference since being put in charge of the Azzurri.
Spalletti has replaced Roberto Mancini, who quit the post last month and went on to sign a lucrative contract to take over the Saudi Arabian national team.
“I thank the federation and President Gabriele Gravina for giving me this beautiful job,” said Spalletti, who led Napoli to the their first Serie A title in 33 years last season.
“I remember that fantastic 4-3 (victory) against Germany (in the 1970 World Cup semi-final).
“I hope to revive that dream and to be able to carry that flag for thousands of children who dream of seeing the national team win.” He added the he wants to see a sense of “belonging” from his players.
“The national team jersey is an important challenge and not everyone can wear it,” he said.
Mancini’s stint in charge was one of extremes as he led the Azzurri to victory at Euro 2020 but they then missed out on qualification for the 2022 World Cup under him.
It was the second successive time Italy missed out on the World Cup after they failed to qualify for the the 2018 tournament under Gian Piero Ventura.
On Friday Spalletti named his first squad in view of next week’s Euro 2024 qualifiers against North Macedonia in Skopje and Ukraine in Milan.
He dropped former captain Leonardo Bonucci and midfielders Marco Verratti and Jorginho.
Defender Nicolò Casale got his first call-up while his Lazio team mate, winger Mattia Zaccagni, returned to the fold for the first time since March 2022.
Squad.
Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint Germain), Alex Meret (Napoli), Ivan Provedel (Lazio), Guglielmo Vicario (Tottenham); Defenders: Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Cristiano Biraghi (Fiorentina), Nicolò Casale (Lazio), Matteo Darmian (Inter), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Federico Dimarco (Inter), Gianluca Mancini (Roma), Alessio Romagnoli (Lazio), Giorgio Scalvini (Atalanta), Leonardo Spinazzola (Roma); Midfielders: Nicolò Barella (Inter), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Davide Frattesi (Inter), Manuel Locatelli (Juventus), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), Matteo Pessina (Monza), Sandro Tonali (Newcastle); Forwards: Federico Chiesa (Juventus), Wilfried Gnonto (Leeds), Ciro Immobile (Lazio), Matteo Politano (Napoli), Giacomo Raspadori (Napoli), Mateo Retegui (Genoa), Mattia Zaccagni (Lazio), Nicolò Zaniolo (Aston Villa).
Source: Ansa News Agency (ANA)