Poland, Jun 11: For a squad that entered the European Championship with three straight losses, Italy is suddenly basking in praise after its daring performance against defending champion Spain.
Compliments were abundant at Casa Azzurri on Monday, a day after the 1-1 draw with Spain. Italy coach Cesare Prandelli was told about French media calling his team downright “sexy” and a comment from Jose Mourinho, who said Italy could go “very far.”
Prandelli acknowledged that he maintained his promise of abandoning the traditional Italian “catenaccio”—lockdown defense—and attacked whenever possible.
The coach says “you have to exalt the characteristics of players that you have, and we've got players with a lot of quality, skill and personality.”
