Rome, Oct. 11 (LaPresse) – “Tonight I want a national team of brave players, but the guys need to know how to sense danger. This is the aspect we must improve,” said coach Rino Gattuso in an exclusive interview with Radio1 Rai reporters just hours before the match against Estonia in Tallinn. Gattuso, as a player, was known for his aggressive style on the field. Today, as a coach and even more as head coach, he demonstrates clear tactical ideas, the result of thorough studies. Is it time to update the labels? Gattuso continued: “I know my image as a player was strong, the nickname ‘Ringhio’ still sticks with me,” he told Radio1. “I go forward anyway; I believe in the work I’ve been doing for years.” Regarding Retegui, who moved to play in the Saudi league, Gattuso has no reservations: “There are 8 or 9 teams there that are as good as ours. The only difference is training time: we train in the morning, there it’s late afternoon. The only difficulty is having to endure a long trip to respond to call-ups, but that cannot be a problem.” Finally, the coach addressed the concern shared by many in Italy: yet another failure to qualify for the World Cup. “The journey is long, but we must return to who we were before,” Gattuso concluded on Radio1. “We were excellent in goalkeeper training, we were excellent in defending, and by changing the way we position ourselves on the field, trying something different, we lost that strength. We must return to doing things we stopped doing. We used to play as units, but now defense is different, one-on-one in open field, taking risks. We must return to that Italian defensive strength, the defensive block that everyone in the world feared.”
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