Giaccherini praises Conte

Italy attacker Emanuele Giaccherini has credited national team coach Antonio Conte for the Azzurri’s victory over Spain in Euro 2016.

The 2-0 win came down to minute details in the Italians’ preparation, according to the Sunderland forward.
‘We prepared for this game in the tiniest details throughout the week and the coach gave us the right indications to beat what I think is one of the best teams in the world,’ Giaccherini told Sky Sport Italia.

‘We legitimised the victory with many chances that we wasted, so it should have been more than 2-0.’

Giaccherini believes the Italians played with heart in the tie and that their passions had a big impact on the performance.

‘Today I made the speech to the players before the game, telling them we needed heart because tactics can only take you so far, and we had heart,’ Giaccherini said.

‘A different player makes the pre-match speech every time, as we are a group and everyone plays their part.’

Italy eventually won the encounter with relative ease, as Spain failed to penetrate.

‘We suffered against Spain only towards the end of the second half, as we got too deep and they have exceptional players, but we had so many chances and could certainly have finished it earlier,’ Giaccherini concluded.