Serie A Schedule Clash Dashes Italy National Team’s Pre-World Cup Camp Hopes
The Serie A Football League has officially announced the schedules for matchdays 23 and 24, effectively eliminating the possibility of a dedicated training window for the Italian national team in early February. The decision, driven by a congested calendar and existing television contracts, throws a wrench into preparations for crucial World Cup playoff matches.
The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) had requested a two-day training camp at Coverciano, either February 2-3 or 9-10, to allow coach Luciano Spalletti – referred to as “Rino” in earlier discussions – to integrate players ahead of the pivotal playoff against Northern Ireland on March 26th in Bergamo, with a potential follow-up match against the winner of Bosnia-Wales on March 31st. However, “for a few days it had been clear that…there was no room for maneuver,” according to sources close to the league.
The core issue stems from the overlapping commitments of Serie A clubs in european competitions,particularly the Champions League. The final group stage matchday, scheduled for Wednesday, January 28th at 9 PM, created a logistical nightmare. Attempts to move matches involving Napoli, Juventus, Inter, and Atalanta to Saturday proved unfeasible, as doing so woudl compromise player rest and recovery. Napoli,having a home fixture against chelsea,will be the only one of the four playing on Saturday,facing Fiorentina at the Maradona Stadium on January 31st. The other three clubs will play their Serie A matches on Sunday.
further complicating matters are the Europa League commitments of Bologna and Roma, both playing away on Thursday, January 29th.this necessitates their Serie A matches being played on Tuesday, February 3rd, and monday, February 2nd, respectively. “The double window not on the weekend was put in place after the training camp was cancelled, but one of the two matches would still have been played on Monday (Bologna-Milan),” highlighting the impossibility of creating a suitable window.
The FIGC initially hoped to mitigate the issue by concentrating the quarter-finals of the Italian Cup within the two-week period, but this proposal was rejected due to the Champions League schedule. Spalletti has accepted the situation, albeit reluctantly, as has the Federation. however, a senior league official stated that “even though they wanted to lend a hand, the limits were too rigid.”
The lack of a February camp is particularly frustrating given the limited availability of players based outside of Italy, including Gianluigi Donnarumma, lorenzo Retegui, Sandro Tonali, Fabrizio Calafiori, Giorgio Ruggeri, Federico Chiesa, and Destiny Udogie. The primary goal of the camp was not tactical refinement, but rather team building and fostering cohesion.
Looking ahead, the only remaining chance to prepare the team is the day before the March 26th match, perhaps moving it to Saturday. However, this is contingent on the outcome of Fiorentina’s Conference League playoff match, as a Sunday fixture against Inter would be unavoidable if they advance. The presence of Inter players, including Kean, in th
