FLORENCE (ITALPRESS) – “What I would like in these next two games is to see a mental attitude as if you were at the European Championship. We have to set ourselves a goal, and that is mainly mental, because the rest comes from there. I want to ask our boys what our goal should be at the European Championship, and surely it will be an important goal because anyway we are Italy and our goal must always be to go all the way. To do this we need an important mental attitude.” Under-21 coach Carmine Nunziata reunites at the gates of spring with a group he left last fall on the strength of qualification for the upcoming European Championships, a goal that now becomes central given that it will be played in June, and where the Azzurrini will play not only the continental competition, but also a possible place at the Olympics.
“It’s good to see the boys again after 4 months, surely some difficulties are there however it’s a group I’ve been leading for a long time, the things I ask them for good or bad are always the same, with some adjustments, so you can always work well with them -Nunziata added-. We are happy with the boys who went to National A both because it gratifies our work and for the boys themselves. This is also a phase to see other players, we brought two new elements because anyway then in June you don’t know who will be there, any injuries, and at least this way we evaluate other players.”
To better prepare for the European Championships in June over the next eight days the Azzurrini will face first the Netherlands and then Denmark in friendly matches. “They are two strong teams so they are important tests, like the ones that will then be at the European Championship because we will find all strong teams there. What I ask the boys is to already enter into a certain type of optics in these two matches, I would like to see the same mentality that we should then repeat at the European Championship,” pointed out Nunziata who then talking about some individuals explained, “Sebastiano Esposito is not that we discover him today, he is a player who has great quality. The last two times he was supposed to come with us unfortunately he had physical problems, however he is an important player who has always been part of this group. Ndour, on the other hand, I found him well, he is very happy to have gone to Florence, to be back in Italy motivated and certainly this is very important for us and also for him, and the same thing is true for Casadei who has now gone to the senior national team. Their return to Italy is also a way to be able to keep an eye on them and see them every Sunday.”
Finally speaking about the possibility that Edoardo Bove, who has been out of action since the beginning of December due to the illness he suffered during the championship match between Fiorentina and Inter, could be part of the Under 21 group that will go to the next European Championships, perhaps in the role of accompanist, Nunziata concluded, “I have not heard from him recently, it is normal that he is not living an easy moment, also on a psychological level. This possibility is something we will decide later, it will also depend on him, and on many things. We will also have to see how he reacts. It is normal that he is a guy who has been part of this group, by the way he is one of the leaders and at the very least we would like him to come and say goodbye to us.”
-Photo Ipa/Agency-
(ITALPRESS).
