Zoff: Italy like a Fiat 500, ‘you have to drive it like that, but you can also win’
ROME, ITALY – DECEMBER 18: Dino Zoff, former of SS Lazio attends the former SS Lazio player Felice Pulici funeral at Sacro Cuore of Cristo Re on December 18, 2018 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Marco Rosi/Getty Images)
Legendary former Italy goalkeeper and CT Dino Zoff has compared the current Azzurri squad to a Fiat 500, has warned that coaches ‘have to drive it like a Fiat 500’, but believes that it is still possible ‘to win in a 500’.
Zoff comments on the current state of the Italy national team
Italy are preparing to take on Luxembourg on Wednesday night and then Greece on Sunday, but will do so under the guidance of interim head coach Silvio Baldini and his cast of youngsters in a squad that features just one player over the age of 22.
Baldini has been called in to lead Italy on an interim basis following the departure of Gennaro Gattuso immediately after the failure to qualify for the World Cup for the third time in a row at the end of March. Missing out on the 2026 World Cup also led to the departures of FIGC President Gabriele Gravina and delegation chief Gianluigi Buffon.
Zoff, speaking in a recent interview, says that this is undoubtedly a low point for the Italy national team, but says that if the situation is to be resolved, the FIGC need to find a coach willing to adapt to the players he has available without making too many complaints.
“Unfortunately it’s a tough moment for a national team that has won four World Cups. Once it goes wrong once, you can’t do the same a second and third time, wow,” said Zoff (via TMW).
“A coach has to know the strengths of his team. If you have a Fiat 500, you have to drive it like a Fiat 500, you have to adapt to it without making complaints. And mind you, you can also win in a 500.”
Gianluigi Donnarumma, Marco Palestra, Niccolo Pisilli and Pio Esposito are the only previously-capped players involved in this month’s Italy squad, but this isn’t something that worries Zoff.
“There have always been good young players in the U21s, but they don’t just have to focus on staying on the right path, they have to think continuously about a road that will be uphill. That’s my opinion. There are also good quality Italian goalkeepers, they have to be valued as well.”
