Cesare Prandelli assured “the doors are open” for Francesco Totti and Antonio Cassano, plus he “accepted” a contract renewal.
The Italy Coach spoke to Rai Sport today and discussed the news he has been offered a renewal by the Federation regardless of the results in Brazil.
Cesare Prandelli assured “the doors are open” for Francesco Totti and Antonio Cassano, plus he “accepted” a contract renewal.
The Italy Coach spoke to Rai Sport today and discussed the news he has been offered a renewal by the Federation regardless of the results in Brazil.
“I was particularly touched by the proposal from the FIGC. I am proud because, perhaps for the first time, they proposed a contract before I had even achieved any results.
“Maybe it’s for all we’ve done in recent years, but now we have something very important awaiting us in a few months. The Federation proposed a contract and I accepted it. We haven’t discussed the details yet, but basically the deal is done.”
It means Italy’s management future is assured after the World Cup, but it remains to be seen which players will go to Brazil.
Ciro Immobile, Mattia Destro and Alessandro Florenzi were all on target in last night’s Roma win over Torino, who were in the Italy Under-21 European Championship side a year ago.
“Cassano and Totti are two great professionals who are doing very well at the moment, but so are young players,” pointed out Prandelli.
“Last night I saw some youngsters who finally dared to dream and this bodes well for the future.
“Are the doors open to Cassano and Totti? Absolutely yes. I never closed the door on anyone. Clearly we will make some choices, evaluate the fitness levels and then we’ll see.
“We will certainly be tired at the tournament after a tough season, as will all the nations. It’s up to us to find the right energy, because we’ll run into so many difficulties in Brazil.
“We must work well in Italy to be ready for Brazil, as our experience in the Confederations Cup already told us we need 23 athletes at that competition. That means having the ability to recover quickly from one game to the next and having a full fuel tank.
“We cannot go to Brazil with players we are hoping to get into shape. We need them to be on form first.
“Who are the favourites to win? Brazil, Spain, Germany and Argentina, but we can have our say too.”
Italy were second at Euro 2012 and third in the Confederations Cup, while they qualified in record time for the 2014 World Cup.
“We are going into something truly important. What we’ve already done is behind us and we must never rest on our laurels. It must be a motivation to do better and I know the Nazionale can do better still.”