How Mancini's Italy play: "Two strikers or 4-3-3, play well and enjoy yourselves"
4-3-3 or 4-3-1-2? Who plays on the left? Without wingers, so many doubts up front.
The new Italy led by Roberto Mancini officially got under way today with the first press conference from Coverciano, launching the national team's build-up to the four Nations League matches against Belgium, France and Turkey.
Mancini's first round of call-ups has opened the door to plenty of new faces while also keeping faith with a number of familiar ones. The head coach set out the principles that will shape his side and how he plans to pass them on to the squad, while also offering some early technical and tactical clues. How will Italy play in their upcoming outings? We will try to explain it.
“Play well and enjoy themselves”
"If I had called up older players there would have been criticism... I have called up young players because it is right to get to know them directly in order to have a strong team in the future. Football evolves, and often you have to change to reach certain objectives. We will try to do something good and positive; it will take time but we will put everything into it".
Many formations, but a back four
The idea is clear and the aim is attractive football, but how will they get there tactically? Mancini kept the debate over the system open, but made it clear that the starting point will be a back four, something many of the lads will have to adapt to:
"System? Aside from a few injured players, we’ll see. We are open to any tactical situation: we can play with two strikers, with a 4-3-3, but also in other ways. The players are capable of doing many things even if at their clubs they play in a different way. We will start training and then we’ll see over the next few days."
The likely one
Mancini still sees 4-3-3 as his first-choice system, but with so many centre-forwards in the squad, talk of a front two is impossible to ignore.
A look at the call-ups, and above all the absentees who could have had a major impact on the head coach's decisions, Dimarco above all, points to a fluid 4-3-3 as the ideal starting XI. When needed, it could shift into a 4-3-1-2.
In goal is captain Donnarumma. Mancini and Bastoni would start in central defence, with Calafiori at left-back in the Arsenal mould and Kayode on the right, while waiting for Palestra in the future. In midfield, Barella and Tonali could line up alongside Alessandro Romano in the holding role from the outset, although Frattesi as the runner with Tonali as the deep-lying playmaker cannot be ruled out either.
Up front, Kean and Pio Esposito will start, with the Como striker drifting left and one of Daniel Maldini and Samuele Inacio in the attacking midfield role, free to move out to the right.
Italy (4-3-3/4-3-1-2): Donnarumma, Kayode, Mancini, Bastoni, Calafiori; Barella, Romano, Tonali; Maldini, Pio Esposito, Kean.
