The power of ideas and positive thinking. Roberto Mancini not only the coach who rehabilitated Italy of football after the Swedish curse, giving it a game and an identity, but also the psychologist who helps her to overcome difficult times. The match with Turkey was first suffering and then exultation and the turning point were the words of the coach during the interval, as explained by Lorenzo Badge, who is becoming one of the leaders of the group: We started a bit tight, but we recovered thanks to Mancini’s words, who told us to stay calm and focused.
The coach also acts as a stress reliever against the wear and tear of modern football. The debut in a European championship, especially for an inexperienced team eager to redeem themselves like ours, an emotionally complicated moment. And the frustrating first half could deflate the group. Mancini managed the moment with mastery, lowering the tone. A happy choice. We have a coach who takes the pressure off us, says Bonucci, the vice captain.
NThere is only one way to win. Mancini knows it well and also Antonio Conte, who led Italy up to the quarterfinals in 2016, eliminated on penalties by Germany. Conte, like Mancio, has embellished the bulletin boards of the clubs he has led. Two different coaches with one point in common: Lele Oriali, the former median of Ligabue’s song, tough, direct, sincere. Essential for both. Both have created a solid and reliable group. Starting from distant poles.
Il Corriere has created a special on the European 2021 with matches, teams, protagonists and results in real time: you can find it here
Mancini does not stress his disciples. a serene leader who manages the group in balance between discipline and freedom, says Luca Vialli, the friend and companion of a lifetime. Conte, on the other hand, always lives in the trenches, the enemies charge him and constantly raises the line of concentration. In the national team he wanted few people around the team and many feds had to stay away from retirement.
The former Inter fan is a centralizer: everything had to pass through him, not only the matters of the field, but also the apparently secondary ones because the details make the difference. The schedules, in the French retreat in Montpellier, were rigid and at the beginning of the meeting he redone his physical preparation from scratch.
Mancini is different, he delegates and shares, especially with his group of loyalists. And the preparation, having tight deadlines, he managed it by working more on an individual level and empowering the players. With Conte the training sessions were often double and breakfast for everyone at the same time. The new course, on the other hand, has different rules: free coffee in the morning, even on match day, by 10.30 am: there are those who are already in the dining room at 8 and then go for massages or therapies and those, instead, show up. last moment. Saturday morning, after the stress of the match and the overnight trip to Florence, he sent the owners to relax in the swimming pool of Fiorentina. A different way of dealing with fatigue.
Europeans 2021: all the insights
Comparisons don’t matter to Mancini, simply because he doesn’t care and he enjoys his creature, which has reached twenty-eight consecutive useful results, two less than Pozzo’s record. A team that has grown in terms of awareness and maturity. Now there is proof against Switzerland, but the group is already well addressed. Just don’t lose the rhythm. Mancio knows how to do it.
June 12, 2021 (change June 12, 2021 | 23:39)
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