September 13, 2000

Carolina Morace officially starts her journey on the long road to stardom for Italy's National program

Carolina Morace, Italy's new national team head coach, made her very first appearance on the national team bench on September 11th at Italy's national coaching center, Coverciano, located on the outskirts of Florence. Carolina had a smile which went from ear-to-ear as she led her players, many of them former club and national team companions, for the very first time in a three-day training camp. The "legend" of Italian women's soccer was also
flanked by her former national teammate and inseparable assistant coach, Betty Bavagnoli.

Twenty-four players were called up to the camp, including 13 members from last summer's USA'99 World Cup (Brenzan, Comin, Tesse (long absent from the national team circle), Tavalazzi, Duo', Zorri, Frollani, Deiana, D'Astolfo
(voted last season's Serie A "Player of the Year"), Pallotti, Panico, Guarino and Tagliacarne). It's worth noting that Federica D'Astolfo is once again back with the national team after having been "banished" for criticizing FA operations after USA'99 (lack of funds and attention to the needs of the players). Five more players were called up by Carolina,
including USA'99 member Roberta Stefanelli, but were unable to be present due to work commitments. Together with Italian F.A. officials, the new head coach has said that she would like to sit down to resolve the problem of those players that cannot take part in camps and/or games due to their work responsibilities.

The former national team star and by far Italy's most prolific soccer player said that she wants to now impose her own playing style on the team differently from what was used by her many of her predecessors (with the
possible exception of Sergio Vatta who was in fact responsible for having qualified Italy to USA'99. He stepped down and made way for Carlo Facchin who was Italy's head coach at the World Cup). Carolina said that she will be most likely using the 4-4-2 system. "I'm not personally in favor of the 5-3-2 because I feel it's not applicable to female players" she said in an interview with the "Gazzetta dello Sport". "This system would involve a systematic attacking phase with many long balls. I feel there would be few alternatives to this kind of style. I'm more in favor of the 4-4-2 also because Marcello Lippi (n.b. former head coach of Juventus and now head coach of Ronaldo's Inter) used it quite effectively with Juventus: he would change system according to the needs of the game".

Is Carolina therefore ready to perform miracles with the national team? Not quite. "I don't really have a magic wand up my sleeve. I'm here to work during a four-year tenure, provided they (the FA) don't get rid of me earlier"! The national team's first big test will come in shortly over a month in the Sicilian capital of Palermo against Portugal for the European qualifying round. The return match will be in Portugal on November 22nd. Before that, Carolina will make her triumphant public appearance with the national team in the northeastern Italian seaside resort of Grado on
September 27th against the Slovak Republic (Finland had been the original opponent but cancelled out).

Carolina realizes that her position as head coach will also (hopefully) bring more attention to female soccer in Italy which has always had trouble getting out of the "ghetto" of the Italian sports world (as she herself noted recently in an interview). "I'm aware that female soccer in Italy has always had to struggle for media attention. What's really needed are the positive results from the team in order to get that badly needed attention".

The 36 year-old head coach has a lot of work cut out for her. She has waited several years for the opportunity to lead the women to fame and glory (she apparently went looking for the support of politicians in Rome as well as that of the president of the Italian Olympic Committee in order to get the coaching job). "The national team is the jewel in the crown of Italian female soccer. We have to absolutely transmit the enthusiasm of this team to the club players, their coaches and managers. The national team after all is based primarily on what the clubs have to offer. This time we truly
have the possibility of getting out of that "ghetto" that we've been confined to for decades. The national team comes first but the Serie A as well as the Serie B (2nd division championship) must not in any way be overlooked. And the U-18 national team? It has the same importance for me as the A national team. My project for the entire sector will mean a
friendly match once a month for both the A and U-18 national teams. I also know that work and studies permitting I won't always be able to have all the players I really want out to my training camps but I'll certainly be happy with a minimum of 22 players, basically two for each role. In this way, I won't always have to explain the same things to those players who can't always be present. Ideally, I'd like 28 players present at my training camps. It'll also be a question of seeing who will be in fact able to adapt to my system of play".

Bold is Carolina's personal opinion of where Italy presently places itself among the European national teams: "According to me, among the first three teams. I'm also sure that if we put together a really competitive team we
can aim for 1st place".

Carolina was also asked if there's anything in life that scares her (she "faced the music" awhile ago as she became the first woman to have coached Viterbese, a 3rd division men's professional club, located near Rome. Together with Betty Bavagnoli, that experience came to a rather abrupt end as she was fired by Viterbese's rather "volatile" president, Luciano Gaucci). Lunatic club presidents? Fierce opponents? Injuries? Italian sports journalists? None of the above. "Of course I'm scared", answered sarcastically Carolina, "Mostly of spiders and the odd mouse that my cat
brings into the house"!