60 kilometres. That’s the distance between Certaldo, where Luciano Spalletti was born on 7 March 7 1959, and the Federal Technical Centre in Coverciano, which has been the Tuscan coach’s second home since August 2023. Spalletti has had a long journey: it all began in Empoli’s youth setup in the early 1990s, and, almost 30 years later, he’s in the role of his dreams. It’s a position in which he’s fully immersed himself, as he shared in an interview with Vivo Azzurro TV (for the full-interview, click here). 

“For 24 hours a day, my life is about being the Italy Head Coach,” he said to the FIGC’s OTT platform. “For me, when you’re the Head Coach, it should be written on your ID card.”

Spalletti spoke about the matches that await the Azzurri, starting with the team’s quarter-final clash in the Nations League at the end of March: “What will the line-up be against Germany?” The Head Coach, smiling, started listing names: “Donnarumma, Di Lorenzo, Bastoni, Calafiori, Barella, Kean, Raspadori, Retegui, Cambiaso, Dimarco and many others... because we now have a consolidated group for the future.” Spalletti is excited about his first encounter with the Germans: “For a Head Coach, Italy vs. Germany is a match you really want to be involved in: a coach in charge the National Team but doesn’t get to lead the side into this match is like a coach in charge of AC Milan or Inter but doesn’t get to experience the derby. Italy vs. Germany is important for the history of football.”

The result of the two-legged tie with the Germans will also determine Italy's qualification path for the 2026 World Cup, with the Azzurri looking to make up for missing out on the last two editions of the tournament. Slovakia, Northern Ireland and Luxembourg would be Italy’s opponents if they advance past the Nations League quarter-finals, while defeat to Germany would see Spalletti’s side face Norway, Israel, Estonia and Moldova. “We’ll turn our attentions to our World Cup qualifying group after the matches against Germany. We need to focus on winning this tie. Based on previous experience, I think it’s better to be involved in a group of four teams instead of five and to start in September rather than June. In September, players arrive refreshed with a different perspective on the path ahead.”