The Strict Methods of "Sergeant" Spalletti in Italy
Luciano Spalletti, the Italian coach and former Napoli manager, does not want any distractions during the Euro 2024 training camp and has long warned of the prohibitions imposed on his players: no playing video games on the PlayStation at night, and no wearing headphones during team walks.
"I don't want to see anyone walking around Coverciano (Italy's sports city in Florence) with headphones in their ears like a #$%#$&. Their career will continue, but not with me," he stated firmly on one of his first days as coach.
"Sargeant" Spalletti is clear about his methods. He does not yield the slightest bit since becoming the head of the team. Italy must be a unit, and their strength and chances of success depend on the synergy created during the training camps, lacking the standout talents that other teams might have.
In Iserlhorn, the "Azzurra" house for this Euro, located just 40 kilometers from Dortmund, there is a common game room. But it closes half an hour past midnight. Everyone to bed, but to sleep. No video games. You must rest.
"Now they leave the PlayStations at home and no longer bring them to the camps. They can come to me, and I'll give them homework to do in the afternoon if the day's tasks have not been enough. Because in the national team, you have to be focused on the task at hand, not wasting time," he stated a few months ago in an interview with the "Gazzetta dello Sport."
His words sparked discussion in Italy, but he remained firm. He does not want his players to treat international matches as a break, as an opportunity to travel and see the world. He wants maximum commitment and involvement.
"You come to the national team to win the Euro, not to win in Call of Duty. If modern times mean playing the PlayStation until 4 in the morning when there's a match the next day, then this modernity is not good. I have to allow mobile phones, but they can't be on the massage table during treatments," he added in that interview.
Shortly after, in a press conference, he revealed the reasons. In his second match as coach, a 2-1 victory against Ukraine, some players stayed up late playing PlayStation.
"Some players stayed up late the night before Ukraine. Addictions are not good. I believe if we hadn't brought cell phones, they wouldn't have sent messages. There are doctors who say that phones make you tense after 5 minutes of use and you don't rest the same," he explained.
"Doctors say that if you sleep well, you recover better and perform better, science says so. These are things that need attention, but I saw that they didn't care at all," he added.
Since then, during Italy's training camps, everything is geared towards improving player performance. The champions cannot afford to have players staying up until the early hours of the morning playing, and "Sergeant" Spalletti will be watching closely.
