Italian captain Gianluigi Donnarumma says his team are “ready” for a tough test against Albania tomorrow as they launch their Euro title defence.
The Paris Saint-Germain player was the first ever keeper to win the Euros Player of the Tournament in 2021, and says the Azzurri are ready to push for the same success in Germany.
What did Donnarumma say?
“Our spirit will be the same one that we had three years ago. We will try and reproduce those magical nights from 2021. The team are ready and I try and give 100%. I try and give my teammates some advice in terms of what 3 years ago was all about but the team are already ready so they won’t necessarily need my advice.
“Those who are survivors from three years ago – me, Jorginho, Nicolò Barella – we will certainly give them a few pointers that will hopefully allow us to go all the way in this competition.
“The previous Euros was fantastic, they’re unforgettable experiences. We’ve written history and now we’re going to try to write another page of history for Italy.“
Embed from Getty ImagesSeveral iconic members of the EURO2020-winning side have now retired, such as Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini. It leaves Donnarumma with a heavier leadership role, but he says that the captaincy does not change much for him.
“There are a number of leaders within this squad and they will make themselves heard and I’ll make myself heard as well.“
Tomorrow Italy face Albania, who are at the tournament for only the second time in their history.
Donnaumma said: “[Albania] is definitely the biggest banana skin… We need to be switched on. They are a good team, they’ve got a lot of pace in their side they play nice football and so absolutely we cannot play at 70 or 80 % tomorrow night , we have to be at 100%.
“They’re a very pacy side, they’re very quick. We’ve already seen some of their play on video. They’ve got some excellent individual players, we need to make sure that we don’t become too stretched because they’re very good on the counter attack, so we need to make sure we stay together we need to be very tight and compact.”
Embed from Getty ImagesDonnarumma was also full of praise when asked about Gianluca Scamacca, who has starred this season for Atalanta and is likely to be key in front of goal for the Azzurri.
“Gianluca is a top class centre forward and he’s made giant strides in recent times. I’ve watched every single one of his matches and he’s done some incredible things, I’m pleased for him and I’m pleased for us as well because Scamacca really can be a matchwinner in any area of the pitch. He’s also a good target man to have out there at any time when the going gets tough and there will be plenty of those during games.”
What did Luciano Spalletti say?
Manager Luciano Spalletti is entering his first tournament with Italy after replacing Roberto Mancini in 2023, and spoke with pride about their prospects.
“I really believe that our team will succeed in showing what it is we want to do, in terms of the style of football we want to produce.
“We are playing a starring role when it comes to any Italian that tucked a ball under their am after school and went out to play football, and then went home at night with their face tired, with their shirt dripping in sweat, with their knees grazed – we are the dream for all of those individuals.
“For our fellow countryman we are heroes, we are giants.“
Embed from Getty ImagesIn terms of player selection, Spalletti indicated that Nicolò Barella is hopefully available for tomorrow after participating fully in training yesterday. He also discussed his attacking options, highlighting that he wants to be able to play with a two-striker system.
“Scamacca has really improved a great deal in recent times and we’ve congratulated him for that. He’s a complete striker, he’s got everything.
“I think we’ve got two great penalty box players, Scamacca and [Mateo] Retegui. [Giacomo] Raspadori has a different skill set – he can actually come short and drop in to receive the ball. He’s a second striker, he typically likes to link up with the team as opposed to being an out and out goalscorer that runs high up the pitch and gets involved in one against one challenges inside the 6 yard box.
“I think we can go with either of those two approaches. And the way to do so comes via our positioning, but it all comes down to whether we can actually dominate proceedings – if you’re able to boss the game in a certain way you are therefore in charge in terms of positioning.”
Gaming-gate
Away from discussions about the game, Spalletti was frustrated when questioned about his management of the squad in their downtime. Some sites reported that the 65-year-old banned his players from using the PlayStation, but he insists his focus is simply on preparation and discipline.
“I can’t understand why it is I have to comment on this.
“What I’m interested in is that they actually sleep at night. I am not bothered about what exactly it is they do. I don’t allow people to spend all night being up, until all hours, so the next morning they’re not completely rested and then they go out to train.
“It’s not fair and it’s not true that I said we can’t play Playstation, I said we can’t stay up until 3 or 4am. That’s something completely different.
“I’ve even had a go on [the PlayStation] myself – I’ll post it on social media to show that I’ve also played it as well.”
Italy vs Albania kicks off in Dortmund tomorrow at 8pm, live on the BBC. You can follow every match in Group B here on FromTheSpot.