“We cannot hold back when representing this country, the Azzurri shirt is a gift that is given to us”. National Team coach, Luciano Spalletti, has belonged to the team from the first day of his term. Guest at Atreju, after visiting a homeless shelter yesterday evening in support of the Community of Sant’Egido, Spalletti spoke on how strong the emotions have been in recent months. He said: “You need to feel like part of something and give meaning to life. Commitment must be a constant and continuous motivation because we are part of a National Team and we must represent our values. Even in Germany, at the next Euros, we arrive as the reigning champions and that's no small thing: we shouldn't care whether someone believes in us or not. The players must believe in themselves. Let's imagine that none of the opposition will be happy to face Italy. Then, we must do our duty on the pitch. We want to be remembered by everyone for being a team that played ferocious and courageous football, going toe-to-toe with our opponents."

Spalletti also spoke on other themes, such as the unique moment in history that young people are experiencing: "There is a threat of the virtual world towards the physical one made up of real things. Some players like fantasy football more than football, the differences need to be understood and we are working on this." Common sense, however, is what the coach hopes for regarding the relationship between men and women, right from being at school: "It is important to restore civic education in schools. We need common sense, women should be left alone, and we shouldn't put our hands on them. It must be understood that this is more important than other subjects at the moment."

In the end, he spared a thought for Sinisa Mihajlovic, one year after his passing: “I have many memories of Sinisa. He was a fair opponent with sport in his heart. The game and beauty of football was key for him and when he played against Napoli, he said he would have been happy for us to win the Scudetto”.