"I'm not afraid", says Gattuso ahead of his Italy debut | OneFootball

The new coach of Italy, Gennaro Gattuso, stated in a press conference this Monday (1st) that he is “excited” to make his debut at the helm of one of the most traditional teams in world football.

Hired in June, after the departure of Luciano Spalletti, Gattuso will lead the ‘Azzurra’ for the first time next Friday, against Estonia, in Group I of the European Qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup. Three days later, the Italians will travel to Hungary to face the Israeli national team.

“I feel the weight of responsibility because I have worn this shirt. We will take stock at the end. One thing is certain: I am not afraid,” said the coach.

“We will play game by game, thinking about how to do things well. Our history shows that we haven’t won many games by scoring a lot of goals,” added the former midfielder, who won the World Cup with Italy as a player in 2006.

“We must step onto the field with authority and pride, but we cannot approach the game [against Estonia] with the goal of scoring as many goals as possible,” he warned.

Gattuso took over the position from Luciano Spalletti, who was dismissed after Italy’s 3-0 defeat to Norway in the Qualifiers.

Four-time world champions, the Italian national team failed to qualify for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, despite having won their second European Championship title in 2021.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.