Ventura questions Germany friendly timing

Italy head coach Giampiero Ventura believes his side will not have look for extra motivation as they get ready to face world champions Germany.

Ventura was however critical that his team have such a big game after their 4-0 win over Liechtenstein in European World Cup qualifying.

However Ventura said his side will not struggle for motivation against the Germans, and believes that, even though their opponents are set to rest players, the game will still be a tough challenge.

“I had said it would have been better to have a less demanding game to go on (with our work). It is plain to see.

“But since we have to face Germany this game becomes a top game. Italy v Germany is Italy v Germany. There is no need to find extra stimuli. This is a game that brings stimuli in itself,” the Italy boss said.

The 68-year-old also revealed he hoped to have longer to prepare for the world champions, but said he wants to use the game to move the team forward in a tactical point of view despite pressure to deliver a result.

“I am sorry that, since we have to play Germany, I wish we had a couple of days more to train. We arrived here only yesterday morning. Yesterday afternoon those who played (v Liechtenstein) haven’t trained and did only those who hadn’t played. We now have only 24 hours to prepare a match against the World Champions.

“Not much but let’s use this game to tick some important checks. I know in Italy the score is very important and will affect the post-match judgments. But along with the final score it is important to make a few step forward from an approach and tactical point of view,” Ventura underscored.

The former Torino head coach has also been credited for helping produce many new talents during his time in club management, but said that youth players must be protected and not thrown in the deep end.

“My duty is to protect (them) as I know (them). When they say the only good thing in football I did was launching a lot of new talents it is true. But I launched them while protecting them, not throwing them down from the circus trapeze with no safety net below,” Ventura outlined.

Before their international friendly in March 2016, Italy represented a bogey team for the Germans as Die Mannschaft had failed to beat the four-time World Cup winners since 1996.