Spalletti freewheeling: "I pray for the Pope, we await Kean. A national team for the future"

Montaioni (Florence) _ It is a different Luciano Spalletti that opens up in the relaxation of his estate, La Rimessa, in Montaioni , among animals and vineyards that explain a lot about the roots of the Italian coach. A Spalletti who talks about football but also about life, from the health conditions of Pope Francis and Moise Kean to the Sanremo Festival, from the Scudetto sprint between Inter and Napoli to the choices for the future of the national team, all while showing his nest among collections of shirts, animals of different species and a crucifix made by himself, welding over 800 nails, in memory of his brother Marcello who passed away some time ago.

The Pope. “I have known Pope Francis , I have had the fortune of shaking his hand twice, when you are in front of him, if you remain silent, you can feel the energy of his way of being, of the person he is. I am someone who, in his own way, sometimes prays, and I want to say a prayer for Pope Francis.

Carlo Conti. “He was good at surrounding himself with great people who gave him something, he was good at giving him space and I will try to imitate his way of doing things and his path''.

National team for the future . "We are now working to try to develop a national team that will last over time , we are at the beginning of a group that we think has an important future, and we want to do this in perfect harmony with President Gravina and the entire Football Federation. We are going to face the next matches with total confidence even if, given how I am, too much time passes . I thought that coaching the national team would be easier because I had more space and gaps to manage, but no, because if you lose the last match played, those results stick with you and every day they hit you like a hammer in the head and until you play again you are not happy".

Kean and Bove. "I wish Moise good luck , also on behalf of the entire Football Federation and all those who love football. I haven't heard from him but the FIGC doctor sent me the diagnosis and spoke with his Fiorentina colleague. We are all waiting for him to start training again, it could happen soon". On Edoardo Bove and the players who with a subcutaneous defibrillator can only play in certain leagues: "I would like the rules to resemble what he wants. What he wants to do is the best rule and it should give him the opportunity to do what he likes most".

Scudetto sprint . « Inter certainly has an advantage , but against Napoli it will be a great match that I think will say a lot about the Scudetto race. I haven't seen Inter at their best for a few games, but if they find their maximum potential, they remain the favorites. Napoli, however, have had an extraordinary championship so far thanks also to the great work of Conte, I congratulate him not only for the points and victories they have achieved but also for what his team shows because it is easily recognizable. It is a team that knows what it wants, that knows how to be on the pitch, and that implements a plan that the players know how to recognize and that is worked on during training. Will I go and see it? I don't know».

Champions . “The eliminations in the Champions League? I didn't expect it . They are the result of those performances that didn't end well. There is only an episodic reason for how certain situations went. The new cups? From a habits point of view it was a novelty, I didn't mind this total ranking , I thought it was nice and right to experience it from the outside. It was a good thing''.