Gasperini aims dig at Spalletti: ‘Italy never had Pelé, Maradona and Messi…’ | OneFootball

Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini is disappointed by Italy’s attitude at EURO 2024 but insists that the Azzurri ‘never had Pelé, Messi and Maradona…’

The Nerazzurri coach released an interview with Il Corriere dello Sport, talking about how he’s building La Dea for the upcoming campaign and Italy’s flop at the latest European Championships.

Gasperini aims dig at Spalletti: ‘Italy never had Pelé, Maradona and Messi…’

“I share the same view as many others,” Gasperini said.

“We lacked the team. Spalletti was not able to transmit certain principles, and only he could know the reasons. Italy looked empty and this was the biggest disappointment.

“The Italian national team has always stood out for its solidity and sense of belonging to the group. We never had Pelé, Maradona, Cruijff or Messi, but we never lacked excellent footballers.

“Our Ballon d’Or winners are called Rivera, Rossi, and Baggio. In 2006, a defender won it, Cannavaro. In that team [that won the World Cup] there were Iaquinta, Camoranesi, Gilardino, Oddo, Grosso and Perrotta.

“Us Italians want to start everything from scratch when there is a disappointment. On the contrary, we should learn a lesson and start from the youth sectors. The 80% of young Italians play football and if we are not able to develop them and bring them to the first team, the system is wrong.”