<p>From Bonucci to the former Juventus coach: Italy, all of Gattuso's men</p>
The new coach's first goal: to restore self-esteem to the group. The programmatic manifesto in those words to Tonali...
When Sandro Tonali, who had just arrived at Milan, asked Rino Gattuso in a video call for permission to take the number 8 shirt from his youth idol, the latter - who was Napoli's coach at the time - gave him some "big brother" advice to immerse himself in the reality of Milanello: "You have to listen carefully to those who have been at Milan for a long time because Milan is a serious thing and its shirt is glorious and heavy" . Words, draped in blue, that Gattuso will repeat to the boys he will find at Coverciano after the summer, when the national team will set off again towards the first appointment linked to the World Cup qualifiers, in Bergamo against Estonia (5 September). They will not all be new faces, for the coach: he has already coached Donnarumma, Locatelli, Bellanova and Gabbia at Milan between the first team and the Primavera, it was said about Tonali , while he had Meret, Di Lorenzo and Politano at Napoli.
Creating empathy with the group, giving the players back that self-esteem that was lost due to the latest poor performances and making the national team a place where you can breathe serenity and positivity are the missions that Gattuso must start from. In the Italian club everyone is convinced that his arrival will be able to clear the clouds over Coverciano, as demonstrated by Gigi Buffon's endorsement who, in fact, anticipated the press release issued yesterday by the Football Federation ( "We made the best possible choice" ). Gattuso knows first hand how counterproductive it would be to intervene in tackles on the group also from a tactical point of view. He has never lacked flexibility in coaching as demonstrated by the fact that in the last season at Hajduk Split (where he placed third in the championship after being in the lead for a long time) he finished with 3-4-2-1 after starting with 4-2-3-1 and then switching to 4-3-3. Regardless of the playing system, the central players will be - in addition to Tonali - Barella and Locatelli: Gattuso knows how important it is to have real leaders on the pitch and in the dressing room and the three have the physique du role to act as a link between the staff and the team.
Furthermore, in addition to Gigi Buffon - much more than a delegation leader, given the freedom of action that President Gravina has granted him - Leonardo Bonucci , as a technical assistant , will also experience the daily life of the team. Another addition that shows the desire to recreate the climate that favored the successes in the 2006 World Cup and the 2021 European Championship (Barzaghi will instead coach the Under 20 in place of Corradi who has joined Allegri at Milan) because, as underlined, in the national team it is often not the one with the strongest players who wins but the one who knows how to be a team. And, in compliance with this belief (one of the cornerstones of the Lippi model), Gattuso will bring all his loyal supporters to Coverciano, starting with his inseparable right-hand man Gigi Riccio . The athletic trainers will be Bruno Domenici and Dino Tenderini , the goalkeepers will be taken care of by Roberto Perrone and Cristiano Lupatelli (the latter with a past at Juve) while the match analyst will be Mario Sangermani .
Initially, Gattuso will have to be more of a psychologist than a coach, also because he won't have the time to make an impact on a tactical level (he could start again from the three-man defense also to give certainties to the troops, considering that it is the game system most used by the big teams). They will have to win by possibly scoring many goals, even if the goal difference with Norway is, at the moment, abysmal ( Haaland and his teammates are at +11, the Azzurri at -1). First of all, however, they will have to secure second place in the group that will give them the pass to the playoffs. To turn things around, the technical level of the team will have to be raised and this will happen by fishing freely among the (few) quality wingers that we have, from Politano - who knows Gattuso well - to Orsolini and Zaccagni, waiting to understand if Federico Chiesa, the most talented of all, will return to playing consistently so as to be able to win back the Azzurri.
When Sandro Tonali, who had just arrived at Milan, asked Rino Gattuso in a video call for permission to take the number 8 shirt from his youth idol, the latter - who was Napoli's coach at the time - gave him some "big brother" advice to immerse himself in the reality of Milanello: "You have to listen carefully to those who have been at Milan for a long time because Milan is a serious thing and its shirt is glorious and heavy" . Words, draped in blue, that Gattuso will repeat to the boys he will find at Coverciano after the summer, when the national team will set off again towards the first appointment linked to the World Cup qualifiers, in Bergamo against Estonia (5 September). They will not all be new faces, for the coach: he has already coached Donnarumma, Locatelli, Bellanova and Gabbia at Milan between the first team and the Primavera, it was said about Tonali , while he had Meret, Di Lorenzo and Politano at Napoli.
Creating empathy with the group, giving the players back that self-esteem that was lost due to the latest poor performances and making the national team a place where you can breathe serenity and positivity are the missions that Gattuso must start from. In the Italian club everyone is convinced that his arrival will be able to clear the clouds over Coverciano, as demonstrated by Gigi Buffon's endorsement who, in fact, anticipated the press release issued yesterday by the Football Federation ( "We made the best possible choice" ). Gattuso knows first hand how counterproductive it would be to intervene in tackles on the group also from a tactical point of view. He has never lacked flexibility in coaching as demonstrated by the fact that in the last season at Hajduk Split (where he placed third in the championship after being in the lead for a long time) he finished with 3-4-2-1 after starting with 4-2-3-1 and then switching to 4-3-3. Regardless of the playing system, the central players will be - in addition to Tonali - Barella and Locatelli: Gattuso knows how important it is to have real leaders on the pitch and in the dressing room and the three have the physique du role to act as a link between the staff and the team.
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