ACCORDING to Italy boss Luciano Spalletti, there should be no excuses for the Azzurri’s miserable Euros exit as reigning champions. Well, except for a few. In the wake of the Italians’ 2-0 defeat to Switzerland in the last 16 at the Olympiastadion on Saturday night, Spalletti was at his contradictory, confusing best.
Having started his post-match press conference in the honourable way by suggesting the blame lays at his door – no one else – he then proceeded to wildly throw verbal punches. The Italian FA, the local media, the fans, the players and even Serie A champions Inter Milan were all in the firing line in yet another bizarre Spalletti outburst. Spalletti’s 26-man squad included five players from Inter – Federico Dimarco, Matteo Darmian, Alessandro Bastoni , Davide Frattesi and Nicolo Barella – three of which started against the Swiss.
He said: “It all began with how [Serie A] ended. “Inter Milan won the title [with five games to spare] and I made sure they were still being professional. The manager Simone Inzaghi kept training them in a certain way because I was in touch with him often.
“But perhaps you are not as applied once you win the league so early.” Spalletti was appointed on September 1, 2023 after taking over from Roberto Mancini – the man who guided the country to the Euros title at Wembley against England in July 2021. CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERS His first match in charge against North Macedonia in their Euro 2024 qual.
