Spalletti: ‘I’ve poured boiling oil on myself’ as Italy coach

Juventus coach Luciano Spalletti is eager to help Italy and Gennaro Gattuso as the Azzurri prepare for the World Cup play-offs, but notes he ‘poured boiling oil’ on himself as the national team coach.

Spalletti briefly spoke about the Italy national team during a press conference on Friday, on the eve of Juventus’ away game at Fiorentina.

Italy’s World Cup qualifying path began under Spalletti, but the Tuscan was sacked in June following a 3-0 loss against Norway.

“I’ve poured boiling oil on myself far more than what they’ve attributed to me,” Spalletti said via Ilbianconero.com.

“There’s no point going over the same arguments again. In my opinion, we realised that the path would be like this, and overall, we are still in the race to reach the target.

“We have a very strong national team; we need to support the players and the coach,” he continued.

“Other discussions are things that can distract them. What we can do to help is to care about them and give them support. I care about these players and Gattuso; they deserve my support.

“As the Juventus coach, I can say that if the national team needs anything from me, we would be happy to provide it, whatever is necessary, in terms of time and availability, to contribute to reaching the World Cup. I am convinced it will happen, but if we can lend a hand, we can do it together.”