‘Don’t take the p***’ – Italy boss launches astonishing rant at journalist after dressing room mole claims

ITALY are through to the last 16, just – but all is not well in the Azzurri camp.

A dramatic 98th-minute leveller from Mattia Zaccagni snatched back second spot in Group B after briefly being leapfrogged by Luka Modric’s 55th-minute strike for Croatia.

This sets up a fascinating knock-out tie with an in-form Switzerland in Berlin on Saturday as the reigning European champions look to become the first nation to successfully defend their title.

And yet, for those fortunate enough to be present for Italy boss Luciano Spalletti’s post-match press conference on Monday night, you get the sense there is a crisis brewing.

The first question from an Italian journalist suggested that the Italian players had held private tactical discussions before the Croatia clash without Spalletti’s knowledge.

Spalletti’s team selection was then revealed to be something of a surprise, switching to a three-man defence and dropping several big names like Federico Chiesa and Gianluca Scamacca. Had the Italy boss been influenced by unrest from some of his players?

This sparked an incredible, impassioned rant from Spalletti – a man known for wearing his heart on his sleeve and unable to hold his tongue when he feels he has been betrayed – and accusations of a mole in the squad.

Spalletti, 65, hit back at the journalist: “There is obviously someone in the team who is passing on the information and that person is damaging the team.

“You have been told that, you haven’t interpreted that. Don’t claim this is your poetic license.

“I always try to talk to my players. I have to listen to my players. And what’s wrong with that if the starting line-up was the result of conversations?

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“I actually did my dissertation on playing 3-5-2 so it’s only natural I sometimes use it. We speak to one another and try to sort things out.

“Why must there have been a pact? Everyone could see we had a shape, even when we had six attackers on the pitch by the end.”

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Spalletti took over from Roberto Mancini on September 1, 2023 – replacing the man who guided Italy to just their second Euros title in their history back in July 2021 before missing out on the 2022 World Cup.

It was a controversial choice, despite Spalletti’s record with the likes of Roma and Inter Milan, most recently lifting the Serie A title with Napoli in 2023.

Since his first match in charge of the national team – a 1-1 draw away to North Macedonia in Euros qualifying – Spalletti’s position has been severely questioned, scraping into the Euros finals ahead of Ukraine in Group C on goal difference, behind table-toppers England.

He continued: “Everyone is trying to get us out. I’m asked if I am afraid. What am I afraid of? Otherwise, I would have simply done another job and watched the games. I wouldn’t have even needed to buy my way in.

“It’s only natural that there is pressure and responsibility. I have lost so many matches in my lifetime. When I took charge of Empoli in the Italian fourth tier, I couldn’t sleep.

“Then at Parma, I was a zombie, but that’s the level. Croatia could have won this game, but don’t take the p**s out of us because we nearly lost.

“I just want to do my job without the load up of pressure already on my shoulders. There is venom coming from all sides, and I inject the venom inside me myself if it doesn’t, because I need to be at the level and I react. Don’t worry about that.

“I set up the team because there is a logic. Everyone there saw that.”

Should Italy beat the Swiss, they are teed up to potentially face the Three Lions in the quarter finals in Dusseldorf on July 6, a repeat of the Euro 2020 final at Wembley.

But for Spalletti to get there, talk of moles and plotting within his own squad needs to be urgently addressed.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk