Berra in awe of Italy battering ram Pelle
‘HE’S A BIG, GOOD-LOOKING GUY. HE NEVER HAS A HAIR OUT OF PLACE!’
CHRISTOPHE BERRA was full of admiration for Italy striker Graziano Pelle remaining entirely unruffled by a bruising FA Cup battle with his Ipswich side last season.
‘He’s a big, good-looking guy — he never has a hair out of place,’ jokes the Scotland centre-half. ‘I’m not sure how he does it — he must have good gel.
‘He’s quite a British type. A big, strong target man who can hold the ball in and, if they play three up front, he might suit them well.’
To stand back in awe of two slick performances from well-preened Pelle’s Italy and France this week, is not on the agenda for Berra.
He was part of the Scotland squad that wore the most bedraggled post-season look four years ago when losing 5-1 to the United States at Jacksonville.
USA were moving through the gears towards a clash with Brazil and a series of World Cup qualifiers. Scotland players had enjoyed rounds of golf in Florida and had holidays on the mind. That experience might be enough to make Berra bemoan the fixture selection of two Euro 2016 hopefuls, including the hosts, lined up for Scotland this week.
However, the 31-year-old, a late substitute for Andy Webster once the damage had been done by USA in 2012, wants opponents to be at full pelt rather than in preparation mode and serve up the toughest test possible for Gordon Strachan’s side.
‘Italy and France are two massive nations with a lot of expectation on their shoulders to do well in the tournament, so we will have to be really on it if we want to be competitive,’ said Berra.
‘They can take it two ways. They’ll either be full throttle ahead of the competition or be a bit tired from the league campaign and not wanting to pick up any injuries before Euro 2016.
‘They might want to be fresher for when the real action starts. I would prefer they were at full throttle. If you’re not right at it and it’s like a pre-season game, then you don’t perform the same.
‘You have got to give everything. If you stroll, then that’s when you pick up injuries. The group we’ve got is full of great characters and pros, so we’ll be going out to put in a performance and get a result.
‘There will be individuals trying to sneak into the starting XI. A few others who will have been in one or two squads who want to stake a claim to impress. Guys like John McGinn have come in and done well and are back in the squad. So it’s a chance for them as well to become involved in the next campaign.
‘The last time, America were preparing for World Cup games. A lot of ours were just thinking about getting time off.
‘But all credit to America. They played well. We didn’t perform.
‘Sometimes it happens. We all have off days and, if you’re going to have one, it’s better in a friendly than a qualifier. Sure, it will be hard for us to dominate the game. We need to be hard to beat and hopefully take our chances when they come.
‘We need a performance we can build on to take into the qualifiers.’
Berra’s rival Pelle, whose Southampton side prevailed in a replay following a 1-1 draw at St Mary’s, is top scorer for an Italy squad sorely lacking an elite goal threat. No team to qualify for Euro 2016 selected as many players as Italy during the qualifiers, as manager Antonio Conte went in search of answers.
Yet tonight’s host country Malta were only defeated 1-0 in both meetings thanks to goals from Pelle, who also struck the winner in a 2-1 success over Norway.
Only once in their last 34 matches have the Italians scored more than two goals in a game and that was against Azerbaijan.
After putting three past Holland and beating Russia 4-2 in March, next Saturday’s opponents, France are in prolific form approaching their tournament ‘send-off’ game in Metz.
Berra had, like every Scotland player, hoped to be in France for the European Championships rather than exiting a week before the party starts. The ex-Hearts defender’s dad, Christian, who hails from Besancon, near the Swiss border, was denied the chance to watch his boy contest a major tournament in his homeland.
Instead, Berra was subjected to waving off a couple of team-mates — Darryl Murphy and David McGoldrick — to the Republic of Ireland camp as the Ipswich squad broke up.
‘They gave us a wee bit of stick which you have to take on the chin,’ said Berra. ‘Hopefully we’ll be stronger for what we experienced.
‘It will be good to get to see Malta before we go back there in September to play a World Cup qualifier. We can put in some hard work and get some decent weather.
‘Don’t get me wrong, there will be boys tired. Physically, it’s a long season. And in Britain, it’s high tempo. But it’s only an extra 10 days and there’s no better feeling than representing the country.
‘Some of us have already had a little break. I managed to get a week away with my daughter but, to be honest, we all wanted to be playing in the Euros and we wouldn’t have been complaining then about only having two weeks’ holiday.’