Frenchman Manu Kone, the Italian Roma midfielder, revealed his first impressions about working under the leadership of Zinedine Zidane in the French national team, praising the way the new coach deals with his players, while warning of the importance of the upcoming confrontation against Italy, on Friday, in the European Nations League competitions.
The French national team will host its Italian counterpart at the “Stade de France” stadium, on Friday evening, in the third round of the group stage in the European Nations League.
The match is of special importance for the French national team, as it will be Zidane's first on home soil since he took over the leadership of the national team, after he began his career with two consecutive victories away from home over Turkey and Norway, with a score of 1-0 in each match, during the past week.
On the other hand, the Italian national team is playing the match in a rebuilding phase under the leadership of its coach, Roberto Mancini, who is preparing to play his third match since taking over. The Italian team lost its first match against Belgium by two unanswered goals, before regaining its balance with a big and encouraging victory over Türkiye, with a score of 4-1, last Monday.
Kone was chosen to speak to the media, on Wednesday, during the press conference held on the sidelines of the French national team’s camp, where he touched on the upcoming confrontation against Italy, in addition to his experience during the first days of working with Zidane.
“I know that it is a very important match for Italy, because they see us as a strong competitor, and we have many good players,” Kone said, in statements reported by the French newspaper L’Equipe.
He added: “My teammates, Gianluca Mancini and Brian Cristanti, have always told me how strong this confrontation is, and that they have room to develop as a team.”
The Roma player continued: “They are in a rebuilding phase, and in a complicated era, but we will focus only on ourselves.” We know that we are the French team and we have great players, and we are also seeking to achieve victory in our coach’s first match in our stadium.”
Kone was among the starting lineup in Zidane's first match as coach of the France national team, which was held away from home against Turkey, last Friday, where he played a deeper role in midfield alongside Adrien Rabiot, the Milan player, and Rayan Cherki, the Manchester City star.
Regarding the role that Zidane gave him in midfield, Koné said: “I tried to implement what the coach asked of me. For me, a midfielder should be good at playing in any position. I had previously played in this position with my previous team, as well as with Roma, so it did not change anything for me, and I enjoyed playing in it.”
Kone also praised Zidane's style of dealing with players during his first week at the helm of the French national team's technical staff, stressing that working with him was a special experience.
He said: “It is wonderful to train under Zidane’s leadership, as he is a global legend. He trained us in a personal and firm way, and he is very close to the players, and talks to us constantly, both individually and collectively.”
He added: “He gave us the confidence to play freely, and it is fun to be able to play as ourselves. On a personal level, he is very honest. He spoke to us individually and told me I had to play the way I was used to.”
Diana Bianchidi, who succeeded Italian football legend Gianluigi Buffon as head of the Italian national team, submitted her resignation on Wednesday, less than two months after her appointment, in the midst of the international break and two days before the expected confrontation against France.
Bianchidi's decision came after statements made by the Italian Minister of Sports and Youth, Andrea Abudi, and the widespread controversy that followed in the media during the past hours.
Bianchidi said in a statement in which she announced her resignation: “In light of the statements of the Minister of Sports and Youth, Andrea Abudi, and the controversy they sparked in the press on Wednesday afternoon, I submit my resignation. “I have always acted with seriousness and integrity, with respect for the rules and people, and for the good of the sport.”
She added: “My values have been unfairly questioned, and I step aside to protect the national team from a useless controversy,” just two days before the Italian national team faced its French counterpart in the European Nations League.
Bianchidi, a two-time Olympic fencing champion, vice president of the Italian Olympic Committee and member of the organizing committee for the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, assumed the position of head of the Italian national team delegation on August 9.
Her appointment, in a position similar to the role of general manager of the national team, was made by a decision of Giovanni Malago, the new president of the Italian Football Federation, to succeed Buffon.
The crisis that led to her resignation was due to her participation, on Tuesday, in a hearing before the Italian Olympic Committee court related to the decision to place the Italian Weightlifting Federation under guardianship, a measure that Bianchidi was opposed to.
Her position sparked criticism from Sports Minister Andrea Abudi, who commented on the issue on Wednesday in statements to Sky, saying that through her position she was unable to “demonstrate the trust that was given to her.”
Although the case is not directly related to the Italian national football team, it came at a time when the federation and the national team are experiencing a tense atmosphere, in light of a number of administrative and sporting crises.
Malago, who succeeded Gabriele Gravina as president of the Italian Federation last August, is in turn facing action before the Italian Olympic Committee, which must determine whether his election as president of the federation will remain valid or be cancelled.
The case is due to Malago not having a license with the Italian Football Federation when the extraordinary electoral general assembly was held, even though the federation’s regulations require the existence of this license.
If a decision is taken to cancel Malago's election, the Italian Football Federation may in turn become under the guardianship of the Italian Olympic Committee.
These developments come a few months after a major crisis in Italian football, following the team's failure to qualify for the World Cup finals for the third time in a row at the end of last March, which led to the resignation of federation president Gabriele Gravina, head of the national team delegation Gianluigi Buffon, and coach Gennaro Gattuso from their positions.
Roberto Mancini then returned to lead the Italian national team, which began its campaign during the current international break with a loss to Belgium with two unanswered goals, on Friday, at the Olympic Stadium in Rome, before regaining its balance by achieving a major victory over Turkey, with a score of 4-1, last Monday.
On Wednesday, the Italian Football Federation submitted to the European Football Association (UEFA) the files of 14 candidate stadiums to host the 2032 European Nations Cup matches, which are jointly organized by Italy and Turkey.
It is scheduled that the file of each stadium will be subject to study and evaluation by the European Union, provided that at the end of the process the Italian Federation will choose only five stadiums to host the tournament matches on Italian soil.
The 14 nominated stadiums are distributed in 13 Italian cities: Bari, Bologna, Cagliari, Florence, Genoa, Lecce, Milan, Naples, Palermo, Rome, Salerno, Turin and Verona.
The capital, Rome, is the only city that includes two stadiums on the list submitted to UEFA, although one of them is still a project and has not been built yet, which is the proposed new Petrillata Stadium for the Roma Club.
The list of nominated stadiums also includes the San Siro Stadium in Milan after its reconstruction, and it is scheduled to be shared by the city's two poles, Milan and Inter.
The Italian Football Federation explained, in a statement, that the European Union will begin the process of verifying the extent to which the nominated stadiums meet the conditions required to host the tournament matches, which is an evaluation process based on 11 different axes, in addition to 120 operational requirements.
The Italian Federation said in its statement: “The European Football Association will conduct verification processes to ensure that the necessary requirements are met, which are based on 11 axes, in addition to 120 operational requirements.”
He added that the Italian Federation will announce, after the end of the evaluation and verification process, the names of the five stadiums that will be chosen to host the 2032 European Nations Cup matches.
