“There are 10,000 of them at the stadium this evening? They’re worth 30-40,000 to me. They’re heroes. Coming here, getting checked, staying here for an hour and a half, knowing that for more than months people have been talking about this match that’s impossible to follow, in which anything could happen. Congratulations are to be given, I hope that tonight we’ll be able to provide significant joy.” Thus the blue coach Gennaro Gattuso in a long interview granted to Rai Radio 1a few hours before kick-off Italy-Israel.
“Great respect also for those who demonstrate. I hope for the city that there is great civility: anyone can say what they want with respect and education”.
“Forwards make the difference if they think about the team”
A national team that has found its attackers again, at the service of the team: “It is fundamental to have non-individualistic attackers available – he adds Gattuso to Rai Radio 1 – We all talk about the goals, but we must also appreciate the work they are doing. If we manage to play with this tactical structure it is because they are good, they work hard, they cover the field, they always manage to make the double climb when we want to apply ultra-offensive pressure. It is important for the balance of the team. Then they are scoring goals, whoever plays always manages to provide quality and quantity. We are happy.”
“The South deserves the national team, but we need compliant stadiums”
“Don’t think that at the table we talk about watches and cars, we talk about this stuff here – he concludes Gattuso to Rai Radio 1 – there is a problem with UEFA licenses and stadiums. Palermo, Naples, Bari, Lecce: if they don’t have the license you can’t go and play. Reggio Calabria? I would walk there, like a Cosenza. But they are all stadiums that are not suitable for playing certain types of matches.”
“Raspadori from the 1st minute, Esposito will enter in the second half”
In Estonia the first goal in blue by Pio Esposito who will start from the bench today despite the absence of Kean. “Pio Esposito? We thought about it, also due to the characteristics of the opponents. But he spent a lot. Tonight he will play Raspadori. However we will see him later on the pitch. Locatelli or Cristante? One of the two,” he says Gattuso.
“I see myself in De Rossi, proud of the comparison”
Gattuso then commented on the words of Spinazzola who compared it to Daniele De Rossi for his ability to make the group feel good: “Yes, I’ll see you again – he admits Gattuso to the microphone of Rai Radio 1 – as a footballer he was much technically stronger than me, we were similar in terms of temperament and how we respected the shirt. There is a comparison, I am very proud of it because I appreciate it a lot Daniel as a man, former teammate and coach.”
“Cape Verde is not a surprise, but the criteria are perplexing”
There is also space to talk about the tale of Cape Verde to the World Cup and the qualification criteria: “Beautiful, even if Cape Verde isn’t a surprise for me – explains the coach to Rai Radio 1 – has reached the end in the last two editions of the Africa Cup of Nations, has many players who play in Europe. I like. If we talk about criteria then we can stay here for a day. Teams that finish last in the groups and then still qualify for the semifinals of the playoffs. They put it down like this, it’s perplexing. But everything was decided before, we knew it and we have to accept it.”