Spain-Italy again. Spalletti: 'We will be able to wear the best dress and also get our hands dirty'

Gelsenkirchen - "We wear Giorgio Armani suits, so we already have the right suit for the maturity exam; but we will also have to be good at knowing how to get it dirty, that suit, to get our hands dirty". Luciano Spalletti's words echo in the belly of the Schalke Arena. He plays, with words and rhetorical figures, the coach, as if this habitual meeting with the press were his moment of escape from a thought that becomes constant, pervasive as that pressing that Spain has taken on as its new trademark, together with verticality, talent and dribbling, the latter two already well known. And so the image of a team that is both elegant and hard-working at the same time gives a good idea of the task to be performed against Morata, Jamal, Rodrigo and company. In a slightly calmer mood, it is worth pointing out, after the 2-2 draw in which Albania nailed Croatia, our last opponent on Monday in Leipzig. A draw that brings us closer to the round of 16, but still to be won on the field and on our own merits, not the merits of others.

A team that wins.... - ....si could also change. But not necessarily. Because Spalletti wants, through play, to build confidence and self-esteem. And so the eleven that won against Albania could also remain unchanged, or at most have one or two adjustments, with Roma players Mancini and Cristante vying for a shirt with Calafiori and Frattesi. The Giallorossi against the Red Furies, then, hoping that the former know how to play the role of bullfighters, and not bulls.

Furious Intensity - The Iberians are ahead of us, at this moment and for a few years now. Davide Frattesi underlined this a few days ago, and the coach reiterates it, expanding the concept, because the problem is not (only) talent, but intensity and continuity: that of the Iberians proper of an already mature team, ours in the process of - let's say - consolidation. A joke that sums up the concept? "Morata is not lazy!", says the coach, smiling but prodding once again 'his' Scamacca, who would do a lot of good to be inspired by the former Juventus player, the Iberian captain for his ability to work in spaces and for the team.

Towards Leipzig - As a maturity exam, then, not bad, also considering the recent precedents, with Euro2008 as the turning point: the Spain of the golden generation eliminating in the quarters the world champion Italy, which is experiencing the unfortunate interregnum of Roberto Donadoni, before the disappointing second adventure on the bench of the Berlin triumphant Marcello Lippi. From then on, to us the crumbs (the victory in the round of 16 at Euro2016) to them titles and the like (see also the semi-finals of the last two Nations Leagues). Time for revenge, then, they will say. With an eye, however, perhaps already turned to the challenge against Croatia on Monday in Leipzig, on paper the real crossroads of our European Championship. To Spalletti and his Azzurri the opportunity to try and write another history. Theirs.