Italy's success down to club mentality, reveals Conte
Antonio Conte has revealed that Italy's success at Euro 2016 is the result of the club mentality he and his players have forged over the past two years.
Widely considered one of the least talented Italy squads in decades heading into Euro 2016, Conte's men have defied expectations and produced a tactical masterclass to eliminate two-time defending European champions Spain at Stade de France on Monday.
I've always said, right from the start of my work here with the national team, that the only road we can follow if we want a bit of success is to be like a club, to be like a team that play together every week – we cannot allow ourselves to be a selection. > > > "I'm happy above all for the players. It's more than a month that we've been working tactically, technically, mentally and we've been trying to surprise everybody and I think we've succeeded to some extent. Spain are one of the best teams in the world. They have players of an extremely high level, not just on but also off the field. > > > "We now face the best side at the European Championship next Saturday. It's going to be very, very hard in all aspects. We've got to do well to recover and prepare for Germany the best way we can. We are without Thiago Motta and that's a big blow, also because De Rossi took a knock to his hip. But we know that in adversity, we give that little bit more. > >