The Albanian coach spoke ahead of Saturday evening’s opening match between his team and Luciano Spalletti’s, mentioning his relationship with former coach Roberto Mancini.
“It’s true that Italy are favourites on Saturday, but football is crazy and anything can happen” said Sylvinho in an interview with Corriere della Sera about the clash between Albania and Italy. This match puts the Balkans in the role of outsiders.
The Brazilian coach, who worked in Italy as an assistant to Roberto Mancini at Inter, remembers his friend: “When the draw was made, I thought: I’m glad he’s off the bench…. Playing against him would have been strange. Playing him would have been strange. As a Brazilian, Italy made me cry in 1982 with Paolo Rossi. But I love him so much.“
To conclude, Sylvinho commented on the difficult draw for his team, who found themselves in the same group as Italy, Spain and Croatia: “We didn’t take it badly, we want to play against the best. We’re a young team, making our second appearance since 2016 under Gianni De Biasi. We’ve grown a lot and we have a lot to learn: we want to make the most of this moment responsibly. We’re highly motivated.“