Desailly backs Italy coach Mancini: ‘There’s nobody better to get through this crisis’
ISTANBUL, TURKEY - MAY 20: French former football player, Marcel Desailly speaks to the media prior to the UEFA Europa League Final 2026 match between SC Freiburg and Aston Villa FC at Besiktas Park on May 20, 2026 in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
Marcel Desailly believes Italy’s rebuild is heading in the right direction, but warned that patience alone will not close the gap on the nations above them.
Speaking to Corriere dello Sport, with quotes via TuttoMercatoWeb, ahead of Friday’s meeting in Paris, the former France and Milan defender was blunt about the disparity in resources.
“We have three national teams. France A, France B and France C, and we can win something important with all of them,” Desailly said. “You are rebuilding one now. Give yourselves time, but don’t take it too easy. The question is very simple: you have to rebuild from zero and that can’t be done in a day. But the other national teams aren’t standing around watching, in the meantime they grow, they develop, they improve. You have to run at double speed to make up the lost ground.”
He is convinced Roberto Mancini is the right man for the job, and encouraged by the direction of the squad after three missed World Cups.
“There’s nobody better than Mancini to get through the great crisis you’re going through. Three times without a World Cup, unbelievable. I see that faith in young players has returned and that’s a good thing. So we French can teach you something too.”
Mancini’s selection has indeed leaned young. The average age of the XI that lost to Belgium was 23, and nine uncapped players were named in his first squad, with Issa Doumbia and Mohamed Ali Zoma both handed debuts. The response in Bursa, a 4-1 win over Vincenzo Montella’s Turkiye, has steadied things considerably.
Desailly also backed Zinedine Zidane, who takes charge of France against the country where he made his name.
“Blanc, Deschamps, Zidane, my generation is leaving something to the national team. Zinedine is very intelligent, he knows what it means to be successful, and we have so much potential that it won’t be difficult for him to get results soon. We have faith in his insight and in the quality of the team’s play.”
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