It’s the day of numbers ’10’, five former world champions from Baggio to Rivera in Coverciano
Five former football champions will all meet together in Coverciano on 3 June to train together with the Azzurri leaving for the European Championships: it is "the day of numbers 10", an initiative promoted by Spalletti
ROME – The idea of bringing together four wonderful Italian number 10s in Coverciano before the start of the European Championships was launched by coach Luciano Spalletti in an interview given last 30 April to ‘ Corriere dello Sport’. “When we meet to prepare for the European Championship – he said – I would like to bring four world 10s to Coverciano: Baggio, Del Piero, Totti and Antognoni. I have already spoken about it with President Gravina. Imagine if ‘that 40’ attended one of our training sessions, he would push the boys to improve their performance. The official invitation from the Federation will go out soon”.
A month later, Monday 3 June, here is the day of numbers 10, which in the meantime went from 4 to 5.
In addition to the first ‘summits’, the invitation has gone out for another special 10: Gianni Rivera. The ‘Fantastic 5’, as the coach has renamed them in the meantime, are the most representative number 10 in the history of the national team from the 1960s to today, world champions or Golden Balls (in 1969 Rivera , in 1993 Baggio). Here they are in strict alphabetical order: Giancarlo Antognoni, Roberto Baggio, Alessandro Del Piero, Gianni Rivera and Francesco Totti. The program for 3 June includes a day with the Azzurri for the ‘Fantastic 5’, who will be in retreat from 31 May at the Federal Technical Center to prepare for Euro 2024. They will arrive late in the morning, meet the coach and then have lunch with the team. Then in the afternoon they will wear special jerseys and will be on the pitch with the group during the training session.
“The Italian expedition to Euro 2024 – declared the federal president Gabriele Gravina in recent days – was born under the bright light and the precious advice of 5 stars of our sport. The availability of unforgettable champions of the caliber of Antognoni, Baggio, Del Piero, Rivera and Totti represents a beautiful testimony of love for the blue shirt, a shining example of how the history of the national team is a precious witness which, passing through the different generations, continues to burn with spirit and pride, even before of football technique. I thank the ‘Fantastic 5’ for having enthusiastically accepted our invitation and for sharing the spirit of this day. I obviously also thank coach Spalletti, who had this wonderful idea, for which the FIGC took action immediately to work and which, in our intentions, also wants to be a model of great involvement for all enthusiasts”.
THE LEGACY OF NUMBERS 10
Together the ‘Fantastic 5’ account for Azzurro 338 appearances and 84 goals, almost 58 years in the national team (Del Piero the longest with a period of 13 years and 6 months, then Baggio 13 years and 5 months, Rivera 12 years and 1 month, Antognoni 9 years, Totti 7 years and 9 months). They were protagonists of the blue epics, for some stretches some of them even together, from 13 May 1962 (Rivera’s debut in Belgium-Italy 1-3 in Brussels) to 10 September 2008 (the last of Del Piero in Italy-Georgia 2-0 in Udine).
At least one of them wason the pitch from the 1962 World Cup to the 2006 World Cup, with the sole exception of Mexico ’86 (11 editions) : Rivera in 1962, 1966, 1970 and 1974; Antognoni in 1978 and 1982; Baggio in 1990, 1994 and 1998, the latter together with Del Piero, who then took part, with Totti, in the 2002 and 2006 World Cups. In their palmares, they boast the 1982 and 2006 World Cups, the 2nd place in 1970 and 1994, 3rd place in 1990, 4th place in 1978; the 1968 European Championship and the 2nd place in 2000.