ANSA Sport1 hour agoSports1 min readItaly

Mancini talks about the new multicultural course of the Italian national team

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Coach Roberto Mancini and defender Alessandro Bastoni comment on the opening of the Italian national team to players with dual passports, defining it as an enrichment inspired by the post-1998 French model and underlining the positive adaptation to different cultures in the club changing rooms.

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Why It Matters

The article reports the statements of Roberto Mancini and Alessandro Bastoni on the Italian national team being open to players with dual passports, in reference to the French model adopted after the 1998 World Cup.

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SAINT-DENIS, 01 OCT - Many questions were asked to Roberto Mancini by journalists, especially French ones, regarding the "new course" of the national team, enriched by elements with double passports and on the road to the "multicultural" national team like France from 1998 onwards: "It is certainly an enrichment - said the coach - I have had many experiences abroad, nothing changes me, I find everything very normal. France got there much earlier, but then it will be the same for us too".

"The world has changed for a long time - the Italian coach continued - now it's Italy's turn too. We have the possibility of having players who can give us much more than what we have had in the past".

For Alessandro Bastoni, no kind of problem, on the contrary: "We are already used to having many foreigners in our clubs - said the defender - of course we sometimes have to adapt to their rhythms and habits, but we do it willingly. Comparing ourselves with those who have different habits improves us".