Former Italy CT and former Milan coach Arrigo Sacchi shared his reaction to Italy’s 2-1 win over Albania in their opening EURO 2024 match on Saturday night, suggesting Luciano Spalletti and his team should be happy with the three points as long as they acknowledge and work on some of their mistakes.
Italy won 2-1 in Dortmund but could not have got off to a worse start after Nedim Bajrami latched on and subsequently buried the ball following a misguided throw-in by Federico Dimarco just over 20 seconds later.
However, goals from Alessandro Bastoni and Nicolo Barella ensured the Azzurri were 2-1 up in the 16th minute.
Sacchi told La Gazzetta dello Sport that Italy showed great mentality in their response by falling behind by less than 30 seconds, and he believes that mentality is something Spalletti should use to his advantage.
Sacchi: ‘Italy should accept the result’
“Given the little time available to prepare for this Euro Cup, and given that it was the first match, let’s take the result, which was good, and try to analyze the mistakes that were made with due humility. ”said Sacchi, reported via TMW.
“The start was terrible, with Dimarco’s throw-in error and Albania’s subsequent goal. But then we not only managed to dust ourselves off, but we also built play after play and managed to turn the score around.
“That was a clear sign, the reaction was there. It means that the group has moral values, on which the bases of the project must be built. It’s not easy to fall behind after a few seconds and not give up. “Character must be highlighted, because in the long run psychology is crucial in a long tournament like the European Championship.”
Sacchi believes Italy still has the opportunity to work on some aspects of its game ahead of the upcoming group matches against Spain and Croatia on Thursday and next Monday respectively.
“Now it is a matter of working on the details, of improving the physique a little, of getting the legs going again. And little by little, thanks to Spalletti’s teachings, you will see how Italy begins to grow.”
There were two people in particular that Sacchi wanted to highlight, for positive reasons.
“Barella was my favorite, he hadn’t been on the field for a few days due to injury, but no one noticed. Beyond the goal, which he was brilliant at, he was always present in the preliminary and defensive phases. And I want to give credit to Dimarco, he made a big mistake, but he reacted well. He did not feel sorry for himself and helped the team in the comeback.
“Dimarco has important technical and physical qualities and now we have seen that he also has great character.”
See publisher’s imprint
