There is a lot of disappointment. Italy leave Iserlohn and EURO 2024 with a defeat which has saddened everyone, especially coach Luciano Spalletti. Sitting next to the FIGC president, Gabriele Gravina, in the closing press conference, Spalletti looked back on his first ten months of mandate, but also outlines the path to restart. "I am the one who has the most important responsibility of all", says Spalletti, who dedicates his first words to the fans ("Thank you for the support and love you have shown us") and to the Federation staff "for their willingness to find solutions to any small problem that has arisen. It is unfortunate that all this has been stuck in what is the general idea that is formed through the results".

Spalletti was asked about the possibility of being able to go back to the choices made at the end of May and make different ones: "A little game that I don't play. In my life, I have always been used to what needs to be done next, I can't go back. I did something wrong, I tried to make the team younger. But as I'm going to stay here, this will be done even more." So, the the Tuscan coach will restart a new chapter: "There are many things to be shown: my commitment will be total, with my experience gained and with additional knowledge. We need to be honest about these 14 matches. There was an immediate need for results and, probably, for what the moment required we were good up to a certain point. We were unable to push on in this mini-journey made. Yesterday, we took a big step backwards, which cannot be accepted, but we restart from there and I think I know what to do. Yesterday, we went back to zero and that's where we have to start from again. In future choices, I will try to bring the age down further in order to create a new group. Some aspects, such as the lack of character and leaders, did not give me the answers I was looking for: we will try to create a younger future, with new energy and strength".

Speaking of young people, there is one - Riccardo Calafiori - who has stood out more than anyone else: "Players like Chiellini and Bonucci become difficult to find, but by giving opportunities and space to players like Calafiori, important leaders can be found on the field of play. We have to follow this path and go straight to believing that there is potential that develop through game time."

The press conference the day after is an opportunity, for Spalletti, to review an entire season: "We arrived at the European Championship with a deserved but difficult qualification period. We knew we had a very tough group, because of history. The national teams we faced are organised teams, with mature players. We have an average age as one of the among the youngest, one of the last in terms of number of appearances. Up to the qualification, there was a reaction in the matches, which we didn't see yesterday. We were disappointed last night, becoming responsible in an important way."

The night in the Iserlohn, where the national team returned around midnight after the journey from Berlin to Paderborn, was however complicated. "But my life has been complicated, sometimes even victories are complicated to manage. I have spent many nights thinking about football, even just out of passion and love, but in recent years I have made thousands of friends in support. And then there was the phone call from my daughter Matilde, an 'I love you' that goes beyond everything."

Spalletti also spoke about the relationship that was created with the group: "With the team, we understood each other: in all the training sessions, I always analysed them, you always have to know how to see through their eyes and listen through their ears. Dialogue is vital. I have always spoken with the players and I have not seen any particular critical issues regarding the relationship. The mood of the group was very good, there was the right reflection on the importance of the tournament and the European Championship: We don't tell lies: a healthy, solid group was being created; I saw the boys calm in the things they did in training and in the time spent off the pitch. We will try to talk to the players about the possibility that the Azzurri shirt could become a burden: yesterday, at the end of the meeting, there was talk of the possibility of having to take penalties. There were some who raised their arms, others who put them down. We will also think about these things." .

Spalletti ends his first season as coach, an undoubtedly different role compared to that a club team head coach: "The differences are objective: in a club, the relationship is daily, while in the national team you don't have that much possibility of playing in a psychological way with the subject's mind. Does the coach's suit fit me? I put it back on today, despite the differences between coaching a club or a national team. And if these differences have brought complications, I have to understand them quickly to complete this journey." .