Tactically, we start with the number. Alphadjo Cisse, 19, a Milan winger, told Rai Sport he has shown only 70% of his capabilities so far, and that he knows he can do much better. He said it after scoring the decisive late goal in Italy U21’s 1-0 win in Armenia.
Seventy per cent. I got out my folder and a biro. On seventy per cent, this lad scored on his Serie A debut, under Ruben Amorim, and he has two goals in four league appearances. He has also started in the Europa League for the first time.
When I ask my players how many they are, they tell me nine. That’s not a percentage, it’s a squad. On Sunday at three, on pitch 2, I did the sum for my left winger: seventy per cent of my left winger is my left winger minus the going forward and the tracking back. What’s left is the ball at his feet and his opinion of the referee.
I’m not saying it’s the same thing. A flat pitch away, mind you. The lad at Milan has a thirty per cent margin. Mine has a margin too, but it slopes.
What interests me is what comes next. Thanks to his goal, Italy U21 can still finish top of their group and qualify directly for the European Under-21 Championship. They need to beat Poland, the leaders, by two goals on Monday. Two goals against the top side, with a winger announcing thirty per cent in reserve. I run that on Tuesday. When we’ve got eleven, that is.
I did test the formula at the clubhouse bar, in front of the club delegate. I told him I’d only shown seventy per cent of my abilities as a gaffer.
“Seventy per cent at 19, that’s historic. I’m weighing my words.”
The delegate wrote the figure in his folder, on the page for the cards he forgot. According to Football Italia, some supporters felt Cisse could or should have been called up by Roberto Mancini for the senior Italy squad. Nobody has asked me about the delegate yet.
It’s true, we checked: Football Italia.
