Italy Faces Challenges as Mancini and Oriali Return
Gabriele Oriali did not bother dressing it up. Italy, he warned, are walking into “a difficult spell” just as Roberto Mancini returns to the Azzurri bench and a new Nations League campaign looms.
The squad gathered at Coverciano on Monday, the familiar base suddenly feeling like a reboot rather than a continuation. Belgium await on Friday, then a trip to Turkiye on September 28 and a clash with France on October 2. Vincenzo Montella’s Turkiye visit Italy on October 5, before the group closes with France on November 12 and Belgium on November 15. It is a demanding run, and Oriali knows it.
Oriali and Mancini, back for a reset
Mancini is not the only familiar face back in the fold. Oriali has returned as team manager, a role he knows as well as anyone in Italian football. His message to the players was clear and uncompromising.
“It is certainly not the best moment for Italian football, we know that we are heading into a difficult spell,” he told Rai 2, laying out the context without excuses.
The demands he set were as old as the shirt itself: responsibility, respect, discipline.
“The lads need to recognise that too. The important thing is for everyone to understand the moment, share it, have collective responsibility, respect and a little discipline, all of which never hurts.
“It is by finding that team spirit, that group togetherness, that we can then achieve results.”
No talk of systems or formations. Just the basics. A group that stands together, or not at all.
A minute’s silence, a shameful gesture
That idea of togetherness jarred sharply with what Italian football witnessed in Turin at the weekend.
During a minute’s silence to honour Sandro Mazzola – an icon of Italy and Inter – a section of Juventus ultras turned their backs on the pitch. In a country that often struggles to separate rivalry from respect, the image cut deep.
For Oriali, it was personal.
“I remember the first training sessions at the Pinetina, Mazzola was one of those who welcomed me with open arms,” said the former Inter midfielder. “He gave me a lift home one day after training, people couldn’t believe it when they saw him.”
The memories came easily: the teammate, the man, and later the director who helped bring Ronaldo to Serie A. A life in football that transcended colours.
“I have only fond memories of him as a teammate and a person, without forgetting he was also a great director who brought Ronaldo to Serie A.
“The ultras turning their backs was an ugly image. I hope that these people can be identified and left out of the stadium, it’s shameful. There are champions who go beyond the jerseys they wear, and this was just a deplorable gesture.”
As Italy try to rebuild a sense of unity under Mancini and Oriali, the question hangs over the game at large: can a national team rediscover its spirit when parts of its own fan culture refuse to honour one of the country’s greatest?
