UDINE. Marezza. Huge. Edy Reja is 76 years old. On Saturday 26 March, at the El Prat stadium in Barcelona, the one where Espanyol plays, the coach from Lucinico will face Spain with his Albania. Who with a pipe in his mouth will face a friendly in view of the World Cup.
«Instead Italy will watch the World Cup on TV, and we will see each other in four years perhaps, I hope together with my Albania. On Thursday in front of the TV I felt a huge disappointment ».
Mister, we were beaten by Macedonia …
«We didn’t throw away our participation in the World Cup against Macedonia, that was just a last stage where we didn’t manage to score with dozens of shots on goal.
But we got to the door by tackling the qualifying matches after the European Championship with sufficiency. We drew with Switzerland but above all with Northern Ireland and Bulgaria. Full-belly draws that were fatal to us ».
Even in the Cups the Italians do not make way …
“Exactly. Think about it, every time Italy puts its heart into it, it gets results, like last summer at the European Championships. But there is a fact: only Atalanta now has the mentality, character, rhythm, physicality, to play for in Europe.
And this must make us reflect. In short, every time we put our nose out of Italy we make a bad impression ».
And so the Azzurri will not play the World Cup for 12 years in a row, well it goes. And now?
«A disaster, sorry but an entire generation of footballers, between 20 and 30 years old, will not be able to compete with the best in the world championship, the dream of all those who are footballers. In itself this is sporting a catastrophe.
Of course, the world is reminding us these days that there are other real catastrophes, but sportingly for Italy, one of the cradles of football, it is a catastrophe ».
Mister, we miss the attackers …
«Well, there were Belotti and Zaniolo on the bench ready for Portugal … Well, there was also an underestimation of the opponent. Macedonia is clearly weaker than Italy, but now no opponent can be underestimated. None”.
Should Mancini resign?
«Stop there. He is a great coach, he will decide. We remember that not even a year ago he won the European Championship, we cannot throw everything away. The problem is that we are not what we used to be, the Italian teams are all made up of foreigners, the youth sectors almost ».
What are our young people missing?
“Hunger. The desire to emerge, to split the world to arrive. The one that I, Capello, Zoff and the dozens of Friulians who left Friuli half a century ago, we had ».
And then we talk about budgets, TV rights, contracts. Prosecutors rule. And we talk less and less about technique …
“Yes, but it is well established that football is a lot of business by now, we have to work on the competitiveness of our football which has worsened a lot and perhaps the victory at the European Championship has put the problems under the carpet”.
His Albania meets Spain on Saturday …
«We aim to go to the European 2024, we face a team full of talents without a designated star. Luis Enrique’s work is there for all to see and the Red Furies are the mirror of football in Spain ». More to add?
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