Spiky Luciano Spalletti still fighting his corner as Italy face Swiss mission
While many Italians were relieved to squeeze past Croatia, the manager still feels he has more to prove at Euro 2024
To watch Luciano Spalletti speak at the end of Italyβs draw against Croatia felt like being pitched into an alternate timeline. Outside, on the pitch at Leipzig Stadium, there had been joy and relief for the Azzurri after Mattia Zaccagniβs 98th-minute equaliser secured progress to Euro 2024βs knockout phase. Inside, at the press conference, there was the sort of prickly postmortem you might expect after early elimination.
In a series of monologues, Spalletti railed against perceived critics. When one journalist, Dario Ricci, asked whether the decision to change formation to a 3-5-2 had been influenced by a βpactβ with players, the manager accused him of sharing leaked information from the changing room.
Continue reading...Β© Photograph: Alberto Pizzoli/AFP/Getty Images
Β© Photograph: Alberto Pizzoli/AFP/Getty Images