Retired Italian soccer legend coach Claudio Ranieri, in a recent interview with La Repubblica, gave high praise to the current Italian national team led by Spalletti. He pointed out that the tactical style shown by the Italian team after the new manager took office, both with the finesse of Spanish soccer and passing control, without losing the characteristics of Manchester City-style deep attack, forming a unique style of modern Italian soccer.
Ranieri made special mention of the Italian team's outstanding performance in the first two rounds of the UEFA Europa League - successive away victories over the mighty French and Israeli teams - a result that undoubtedly serves as a strong validation of the team's new tactical system. He praised, "What I see is an excellent Italian team playing a modern Italian soccer style, with a style of play that is similar to the Spanish team that won the European Cup under de la Fuente, as well as many similarities to the Manchester City team under Pep Guardiola."
Ranieri further analyzed the new tactical characteristics of the Italian team. He believes that this Italian team not only inherits the traditional toughness and solid defense of Italian soccer, but also shows new vitality and creativity in the offensive end. Their passes are more accurate and fast, and the cooperation between players is full of tacit understanding. They are able to switch the attacking rhythm flexibly in the game, which can form effective deep breakthrough in the middle of the road, and also create threats in the side road.
In addition, Ranieri also mentioned the influence of Manchester City's team on the Italian team's tactical style. He said, "Nowadays, Manchester City also emphasizes more on deep rather than horizontal attack, which coincides with the new tactics of the Italian team. This deep attacking style of play can penetrate the opponent's defense more effectively and create more scoring opportunities."
Ranieri also gave full recognition to Spalletti's rejuvenation policy. He believes that this policy has injected new blood and vitality into the Italian team, allowing the team to quickly come out of the doldrums after experiencing a setback in the European Cup, and regaining confidence and competitiveness.
