Gattuso: The spirit of collective struggle is Italian football DNA. Giorgio Armani represents elegant quality

September 5th Gattuso was satisfied with the first day of the Italian national team training and said that "the spirit of struggle is our DNA."

Next, Italy will face Israel in a neutral position in Hungary's Debrecen for another 2026 World Cup qualifier.

Gattuso said in an interview with Sky Sports in Italy: "I really can't imagine a better start than this. The players and everyone who works in the Football Association are very cooperative. I hope to see a great game tomorrow. I want to praise the lads for their professionalism and character because we always talk about belonging and team spirit."

"We can talk about tactics and technology, but history tells us that collective spirit and fighting spirit are part of our football DNA."

Gattuso replaced the fired Spalletti as the Italian national team coach on June 15, but did not start working with the players until this week due to the summer offseason. "I don't have much time to be excited, and the pressure I feel now is like when I was a player. Maybe I'll be a little excited when the referee blew the opening whistle, but now I have to focus on it and come one game after another. We know the task ahead is very difficult, but we have to go all out."

Before the game against Estonia, Italy will watch silence for legendary fashion designer George Armani, who died today at the age of 91. Armani has designed many formal outfits for the Italian national team and sponsored a basketball team.

Gattuso: "We have lost a great person who represents elegance and quality. I have seen him in a basketball game and he loves sports."