Roberto Mancini immediately apologized for his escape to Arabia . Following an introduction by President Malagò, the press conference that ushered in the new era of the Italian national team opened with a statement from the coach: "Three years ago, there was a lack of communication between me and President Gravina. If we had spoken, everything would probably have changed. I'm very sorry; the national team jersey has always been important to me. I made mistakes, I made mistakes, and I'm sorry for that. Three years ago, I lost the woman of my life, but now fate and President Malagò are giving me the chance to make amends. I'll give my all to bring the national team back to where it deserves to be."
For Claudio Ranieri, however, the call-up to the Azzurri "is the crowning achievement of a career ." "I was at the seaside and didn't think it could happen. I know there will be a lot of work to do, but I think my career shows that I've never backed down in the face of difficulties . I want to make Italians fall in love and think about the children, like my 12-year-old nephew, who have never seen Italy at the World Cup."
Claudio says it's "difficult to say" how long it will take to fix Italian football, but what's certain is that "work" is needed. "Roberto has to resolve the situation on the pitch, I have to resolve the situation that isn't visible."
"At the end of June in Cagliari," the technical director explains, "they told me that children have to spend too much money to go to soccer school, and many families can't afford it . So I want to understand how the school youth sector works so I can get kids back into this sport by lowering the prices."
Another point raised by Ranieri, the one the new Italian technical director insisted on most: children work too little on technique. "The youth national teams are doing well and winning because we are very good tactically, less so technically. We need to get back to dribbling; children need to learn how to move the ball. They need to work hard between the ages of 10 and 14. . We need fundamentals, coaches who know how to teach dribbling and control, and then comes tactics. ."
