On June 30th at 00:00, Italy will face Switzerland in a do-or-die clash in the Round of 16 of the European Championship. Ahead of the game, legendary manager Capello, who has coached Juventus, Real Madrid, England, and Jiangsu FC, has pointed out that Federico Chiesa could be the key player in the match and urged Italy not to “overthink” things.
In his column for Gazzetta dello Sport, Capello wrote: “Having seen Switzerland play, I believe it would be a huge mistake to underestimate them. They have everything to cause Italy problems, starting with their attitude, they are solid, pragmatic, humble, and down-to-earth. If there’s one thing we’ve learned from this European Championship, it’s that the teams that can execute a simple plan thoroughly will get results. The performance of players like Granit Xhaka and Remo Freuler is a reflection of the entire team. They are particularly active, willing to sacrifice, well-coordinated and ready to help the team.”
Capello emphasized that Italy must demonstrate courage and a desire to score: “Italy are defensively solid and can create chances, we showed that against Albania. But we must show the same desire that we had in Leipzig after Luka Modric’s goal [in the 0-1 defeat to Croatia in their third group game].”
Capello predicted that Chiesa could be the key man in the match: “He has to control the game from the start with his skills – dribbling, pace, and courage. He came on against Croatia and changed the game, this time he needs to make an impact from the start. Switzerland’s left flank is their weakest point and Chiesa can cause them problems in one-on-one situations.”
Capello also noted: “Italy sometimes gets caught up in the coach’s tactical plans and overthinks things. Hopefully, the Azzurri can be more proactive and fearless on the pitch. Whenever that happens, Italy is hard to stop, Luka Modric and his teammates know this.”
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