Having left the Olimpico with their heads down, mercilessly crushed by Belgium, the Azzurri seemed to dance on the edge of the abyss with the fans - on social media and at the bar - casting Mancini's boys as candidates for relegation in Serie B of the Nations League and outside the top seeds in the European Championship. Just over a week later, Italy - pirates in Bursa with 4 goals scored against hosts Turkey and fresh from a 1-1 defeat against Zidane's Blues on the grass of the Stade de France - are projected towards a future that appears different and which could even give them second place in the Nations group, in the wake of the four points gained in the two away matches.
As long as they get another three points from Montella's team on Monday evening at Dall'Ara before meeting Belgium again, in Brussels in November, and then France in Milan.
Something that tickles quite a bit - in a stadium that is close to being sold out with 27,000 tickets sold out of a capacity of 31,000 - Roberto Mancini's national team, capable, in a couple of more than brilliant matches, of giving itself a newfound identity, an effective game, fixed points, character and mentality. Things to rub your eyes after the unfortunate debut against Godts and his companions but which seem to have become the heritage of a group reborn between shortened distances between the departments, doublings and sacrifice for the teammates in a 4-3-3 which centrifuges, in a mix of success, young rampants - from Kayode to Sebastiano Esposito not to mention the now veteran Pio - and confident leaders, from Tonali to Bastoni up to Donnarumma, an absolute champion on the path to player-monument to Zoff and Buffon.
"In this long break - observes the Italian coach - on the eve of the match in Bologna - I had a good time with the boys, I had a great time with them and I think they had fun but now we have to finish on a high note against Turkey". To be faced with the utmost attention, forgetting the 'sack' of Bursa. "The mistake - he argues - would be to think that the match against Turkey is a simple match. To think this would be a huge mistake: we must approach the match well". Also because, he swears, "I haven't changed my opinion on Turkey. There are times when things don't go well but I believe that the team is very strong, that it has great players and that it was very unlucky at the World Cup".
A match to be experienced with a different formation from that of the last matches. "We will change something more" compared to previous matches, explains Mancini "because there were only two days to recover" after Paris: Moise Kean certainly won't be there, who hasn't recovered from an injury and will leave the Italian retreat.
Silent on the names to be included in the scoresheet, "I have already decided for some, for others we will see tomorrow but all those who played did their duty and did it well", Mancini gives a caress to Romano and Vergara - "we think that Romano could be an important player for the future as well as Vergara" - and hits hard on the "confidence" button found after the first misstep with Belgium and on the concept of "group". The same concept on which - sitting next to the coach - Nicolò Barella, who remained in Coverciano during the Turkish away match, also bets on. "Competitiveness makes me alive - he observes - it's sad not to play but for the national team I'm available to play 10-20-30 minutes even a minute the most important thing is the group: if there's games to play I'll play, if there's a trip to go I'll do it, if I have to stay in Coverciano I'll stay in Coverciano, no controversy"
