It’s a day of firsts at Coverciano where the Italy squad will train with the new Head Coach, Luciano Spalletti, for the first time this afternoon. Two days after Spalletti’s official presentation in the Magna room at Coverciano, it was Gigi Buffon’s turn to meet with journalists for the first time as Head of the Delegation. Alongside him was Gabriele Gravina, who chose the legend of Italian football to take on the role after Gianluca Vialli. It is not just a representative role but one that can be fundamental for the foundations of the group. 

“One of the greatest Italy players in our history has finally come home” - stated Gravina- “On Saturday we talked about starting a new chapter in the history of the Azzurri with Spalletti, and today is another beautiful day. This role falls within the prerogatives of the Federal President to some extent, but for many reasons, I am particularly proud to hand the baton over to Buffon. To be consistent, on Saturday I spoke about pride and belonging, I spoke about identity. And Buffon is a professional with 214 call-ups and 176 appearances for the National squad, the record number. His presence in this role is a symbol of great consistency. Gigi wears the Azzurri jersey like a second skin, it is a fundamental part of his life”. The work to bring Buffon back into the National team started a while ago: “When he was thinking of retiring I contacted him, but then he chose to go on playing. Then he decided to retire for good and we opened up that conversation again. I want to thank him for accepting this new role and I wish him all the best in reaching new heights with the Azzurri: he’s already up there as a great player but with his quality, he could also end up there in his new role. For me, today is a day full of emotion following a turbulent summer, not caused by us, and I am even happier because I know the squad is in good hands with Spalletti as Head Coach and Buffon as Head of the Delegation. If it’s true that each one of us must do our best, I believe that as the President of the Federation, I have done my absolute best to make choices that honour the Azzurri shirt”.

And who has honoured the shirt better than Buffon, the player with the most appearances for the Azzurri (176) and who began his journey at Coverciano 30 years ago, starting out in the various youth teams. From a promising young talent in Italian football to a captain and leader, his career brought him to the top of the world alongside millions of Italian fans. Now, having hung up his gloves and boots, it’s time for him to start a new adventure: “I want to thank the president, the Azzurri family, and the Head Coach for the trust that they have placed in me. Seeing myself in this position is something that brings me great pride and spurs me on, it makes me a happy man. I’m back in an environment that I know fairly well. The scope of my role is to make a small contribution to the way that we will go on as a group in the future”.

When asked who is the best Italian goalie of all time between him and Zoff, he is modest (“I am the last person who can answer questions like that, I think that Zoff is still the most iconic goalkeeper in Italian football history”) and rejects the comparisons with his predecessor, Gianluca Vialli who knew how to work his way into the heart of fans and players alike: “I have wonderful memories of Gianluca, we had an extraordinary relationship off the pitch too. Even after he retired we continued to swap shirts. I don’t presume to be able to reach his level, it would be wrong because everyone has their own path to walk when they mature and they manage to respond differently than from when they were younger. Coming here trying to be another Gianluca Vialli would be wrong, I wouldn’t be up to it. I will try to be how I have always been”.

Gigi smiled with pride, moved to be able to dive into this new adventure without looking back: “It wasn’t easy to retire. Last year at the end of the season, in great condition, I managed to do myself harm, it was the biggest sign nature could have given me. I don’t like the farewell games, they are beautiful and iconic, but also sad. When I finish something I need to think of the future”.

The past, or rather knowledge of the past, can serve the younger generation in their approach to the national team: I was born and raised with the legend of Zoff and Paolo Rossi, coming to Coverciano and seeing Gigi Riva was like seeing a monument for me because it was a heritage that my father and my family had passed on to me.  You can bring young people back like that, then of course having a winning national team helps.”

In addition to the tears shed on the field after the defeat in the play-off against Sweden ("It is a pity I could not play in my sixth World Cup, it would have been a unique achievement, but life has been benevolent enough towards me to have repaid for that small sorrow"), there was also the disappointment of a simple fan for the second World Cup qualification missed against North Macedonia, the Azzurri’s next opponent on 9 September in Skopje: "The success at the European Championship was magic, a goal that we achieved also because we got lucky on three or four occasions. In the World Cup qualifiers, there were the missed penalties with Switzerland and a host of other unfortunate situations, it was perhaps the price to pay for the European Championship victory.”

At a time when there is a shortage of forwards, there are many Italian goalkeepers who are showing themselves off: 'In the last three/four years, the pool of Italian goalkeepers has grown a lot, there are five or six of a very high level, not counting Gigio (Donnarumma, ed.) who is now competing with the world's top players. I am thinking of Vicario, Provedel, Meret, but also Falcone, Di Gregorio, and Carnesecchi. There are many goalkeepers who are proving that they have something special.”

He also sees something special happening in the national team that is being born in Coverciano: "Nowadays I have the good fortune to be close to the president and the coach with his staff and I must say that I have heard ideas, emotions and values that are, in my opinion, essential if you want to achieve a goal. I feel that Italy has found the right man at the right time and unfortunately, I'm not talking about myself..." Talking about Spalletti, he said: "He takes words away from me; I should intervene from time to time, but one can only intervene when there are gaps when something has not been said and it is better to repeat it. But I must say that the completeness of the coach's reasoning means I don’t add anything else, it would only be a reiteration and an emphasis of something that has already been said by him. With a coach like that, I think I will have to say very little".

For the National team fixtures click here.

Squad list

Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint Germain), Alex Meret (Napoli), Ivan Provedel (Lazio), Guglielmo Vicario (Tottenham);
Defenders: Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Cristiano Biraghi (Fiorentina), Nicolò Casale (Lazio), Matteo Darmian (Inter), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Federico Dimarco (Inter), Gianluca Mancini (Roma), Alessio Romagnoli (Lazio), Giorgio Scalvini (Atalanta), Leonardo Spinazzola (Roma);
Midfielders: Nicolò Barella (Inter), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Davide Frattesi (Inter), Manuel Locatelli (Juventus), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), Matteo Pessina (Monza), Sandro Tonali (Newcastle);
Forwards: Federico Chiesa (Juventus), Wilfried Gnonto (Leeds), Ciro Immobile (Lazio), Matteo Politano (Napoli), Giacomo Raspadori (Napoli), Mateo Retegui (Genoa), Mattia Zaccagni (Lazio), Nicolò Zaniolo (Aston Villa).