Ventura rejuvenates the Azzurri
ROME: Italy coach Giampiero Ventura, pictured, will make his debut on the bench against European Championship runners-up France tomorrow in a high-profile friendly to test form before the start of the 2018 World Cup campaign.
Ventura, 68, left Torino after five seasons to take over from Antonio Conte in July; he had already succeeded Conte at the helm of Bari in 2009.
“When Conte left Bari, it was good for me; when Conte left La Nazionale it was good for me,” Ventura joked. “When Conte leaves Chelsea, I know where to go.”
Looking ahead to his first competitive match with the Azzurri, on Monday away to Israel, Ventura stuck to his commitment to rejuvenate the squad and called up four newcomers – three of them aged between 17 and 22.
He issued the roster last week and found good responses at the weekend from striker Andrea Belotti, a 22-year-old he coached at Torino, who scored a hattrick, while Genoa’s Leonardo Pavoletti, 27, netted a brace.
AC Milan defender Alessio Romagnoli, 21, also joined La Nazionale’s camp outside Florence along with goalkeeping teammate Gianluigi Donnarumma, who, at 17, could become the youngest ever to don the Azzurri jersey.
Keeping 15 players from Conte’s squad at Euro 2016, where Italy lost on penalties to Germany in the quarter-finals, Ventura is also set to retain a 3-5-2 formation with veteran goalkeeer Gianluigi Buffon as captain. Buffon could lead his Juventus teammate defenders Andrea Barzagli and Giorgio Chiellini.
Upfront, Eder and Graziano Pelle are joined by Manolo Gabbiadini and Ciro Immobile, but Ventura found no room for Roma’s Stephan El Shaarawy, nor for Domenico Berardi, 22, despite his seven goals from six appearances with Sassuolo in domestic action and Europa League play-offs.
“El Shaarawy is unlikely to be used, simply because there’s not space for him in his position,” Ventura said. “The same goes for Berardi. As long as we use this formation, attacking wingers, no matter how good they are, will struggle to get in the starting eleven.”
In midfield, Marco Verratti is back from injury and Giacomo Bonaventura also rejoins the squad after missing Euro 2016.
With France’s first World Cup qualifier at home to Bulgaria on September 7, and trying to forget the 1-0 home loss to Portugal in the Euro final, Didier Deschamps lowered the average age at Les Bleues, giving a first chance to defenders Sebastien Corchia, 25, Djibril Sidibe, 24, and goalkeeper Alphonse Areola, 23.
Deschamps omitted Juventus veteran Patrice Evra and Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema.–