Luciano Spalletti, on the eve of Italy vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina, expressed a range of emotions. On one hand, maximum concentration as we inch closer to the EURO 2024 debut, his first big competition as Head Coach; on the other hand, memories of a city and ground that were home to his first ever games as a Coach. At the Carlo Castellani in Empoli, it will all come together: the game against Bosnia on Sunday 20:45 CEST is the final test before the Azzurri head to Germany, only six days head of their debut game in Dortmund. The Coach explained: “I expect my squad to put into practice what we discussed after the Türkiye match. Empoli? I bought all the tickets myself! (he laughs). They’re all friends, I will feel right at home because I had a wonderful time there: my childhood, I was a youth player, then a senior player, then a youth coach, and then the senior coach. We fought to win leagues and to survive: I have a lot of emotional memories. It will be like playing a Euros game for me”.

As Empoli fought for survival in Serie C1 in June 1994, 30 years ago, Spalletti wouldn’t have imagined that he would be back at the Castellani as First Team Head Coach. “When I started, I wanted to play for a Serie A side, but it was impossible to think I’d go this far. We all have a future ahead of us, but we need to think about individual actions, humility, and the conviction to make it happen”. Spalletti reiterates this concept to his side ahead of the Euros. “The future is guaranteed: we go to work with seriousness and aim as high as possible. Everything is open to us, rightfully so. There is no calmness in the Azzurri shirt and we need to manage this. However, telling the lads that the only way to wear it is by winning, is not correct”.

There are other memories too, of one year ago: “When I arrived, we had a deep wound. We are going to the Euros, we have grown but we began after not making the World Cup. We don’t want to be the architects of our own downfall: we are here from morning to night alongside the whole Federation and our lads. We have a strong team: I didn’t choose these 26 lads, they deserved to be chosen”.

Then, talk of individual players, beginning with Lorenzo Pellegrini who will wear the number 10 shirt. “He is made of the right stuff to wear that number. He knows how to float into spaces, take penalties and free-kicks, he can get into tight spaces and keep an eye on who is behind him, he sees beyond the first pass and can beat his man. Barella is also close to being a 10, but he also goes to take on the opposition”. Barella won’t play against Bosnia and Herzegovina: “We are hopeful about his condition. When you assess a muscle strain, it often isn’t clear: he won’t play in Empoli but we have faith for the game against Albania”. Spalletti announced that Buongiorno will be in defence and Fagioli in the midfield, as we saw in Bologna: “He needs the minutes, tomorrow he will play with Jorginho. There has to be good technique to have all of these players on the pitch. Skill and intelligence are needed to do this job, a bit more than what we have seen so far. We need to be more central and try to dictate the play: we need to manage possession and know which end of the pitch to pass to. We have a bit of everything with these 26 players”.

Finally, a word on Bosnia: “Their breaks are their top skill. They defend quite deep and give the feeling of managing the game in a balanced way. We need to be good at managing possession in their half of the pitch, whilst also doing things right in defence.

VICARIO. Empoli has a place in Luciano Spalletti’s heart, but also Guglielmo Vicario who played there for two seasons before moving to Tottenham. The Friulian player was between the sticks against Türkiye. “The Coach makes the decisions and I am ready in any case: I am ready to play or help out from outside, that’s important for the group we want to create. Our common interest is the Azzurri shirt. It will be moving to be back at the Castellani for the first time wearing an Azzurri short: it will be a great moment for my parents, the many people of Empoli who cared and care for me, it’s a big feeling. Empoli gave me the chance to play in Serie A and in the Premier League. Now I feel like more of a man, more mature: they had the courage and madness to put me in, and I will always be thankful for that”.

Vicario’s growth is continuous, both as a player and a man. “My time in England is part of the kind of growth that is good for any athlete and any person: I am happy with my decision. Sometimes it can be harder in a different language and a different culture: you need to adapt, but it’s worth it. The Euros? We are ready: you can always improve, but this is what we’re working on. We have the luck to have a Coach who gets it right every day: we are humble and ambitious workers, without being inferior. This National Team’s skills are numerous and varied, we only need to be able to show them on the pitch”. Exactly five years ago, on 9 June 2019, Vicario was relegated with Venezia from Serie B to Serie C on penalties against Salernitana. Five years later and he is the Italy goalkeeper. Life’s funny.

 

PREVIOUS GAMES IN EMPOLI. It will be the second time for the National Team in Empoli: the only previous occasion dates back to May 2017 when an experimental Italy team defeated San Marino 8-0 with a hat-trick from Lapadula (who later chose to play for the Peruvian national team) and goals from Petagna, Caldara, Politano, and Ferrari (plus an own goal). The Castellani subsequently hosted the Women's national team twice (Italy 2-1 Chile in January 2019, a friendly with goals from Mauro and Tarenzi, and Italy 1-3 Denmark in October 2020, a European Championship qualifying match, with Giacinti scoring for the Azzurre), and one Under 21 game (Italy 3-0 Luxembourg in September 2021, also a European Championship qualifying match, with goals from Pirola and Cancellieri, plus an own goal).

PREVIOUS MEETINGS WITH BOSNIA. There have been five previous encounters with Bosnia and Herzegovina: the head-to-head record stands at three wins for Italy (the last one in November 2020 in the Nations League, a 2-0 victory with goals from Belotti and Berardi that secured qualification for the Final Four), one draw, and one defeat.