Azzurre rise faces sternest of tests
Friday, October 28, 2005
Article summary
Having altered the squad and lifted morale following his appointment in July, Italy coach Pietro Ghedin expects a tough workout in Norway on Saturday.
Article body
With three months having passed since he was handed control of the Italian women's team, Pietro Ghedin is continuing to enjoy his "new adventure".
Famous names
Ghedin possesses a wealth of experience in the men's game, and was an assistant to three Italy coaches - Cesare Maldini, Dino Zoff and Giovanni Trapattoni - in addition to coaching Malta. He replaced Carolina Morace with the Azzurre at a low ebb, successive defeats at UEFA WOMEN'S EURO 2005™ by France, Germany and Norway seeing the side leave England as the only nation not to pick up a single point.
Opening win
Change was needed, and a side featuring only five of the starting XI beaten by Norway started the opening 2007 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Ukraine, a 3-1 victory. Ghedin will now find out exactly how far his team have come when they travel to the northern Norwegian city of Bergen to tackle the EURO runners-up, and world's third-ranked team, in Group 1 on Saturday.
'New emotion'
The 52-year-old told uefa.com: "Obviously I'm enjoying the job - it's a new experience, a new emotion, for me. I want to discover everything about this team. Until I got the job I paid no real interest in women's football, now it's a new adventure. I've spent a lot of my time since my appointment scouting, and have discovered there's a lot of talent and material to work with."
Room for improvement
Ghedin acknowledged that Italy are someway behind the likes of Norway and world and European champions Germany, but saw "plenty of positives" in the defeat of Ukraine. However, he knows his side can still improve, saying: "We have to work on changing the mentality a bit as sometimes we're a bit afraid against opponents who are physically strong. Norway will be very strong but we'll meet them face to face."
Esteemed clubs
Having worked with some of Italy's best male coaches and played professionally for S.S. Lazio and ACF Fiorentina, Ghedin is well placed to note the major differences between the way the two sexes approach the game. "For me, one obstacle with women players is the lack of concentration which leads to more mistakes than in men's football. If we improve that then the gap will be closed and the game will flourish. I believe women's football is the future."
