Football: Italy national team manager 'proud' of team

(AGI) Montpelier, June 29 - Italy's national football team manager Gabriele Oriali said he was pleased with what the Azzurri had achieved thus far in the 2016 UEFA European Championship. Mr Oriali said: "For me and for the boss it was no surprise, because we were aware of and convinced of the fact, seeing the players on a daily basis, that we would have been tough to take on." He added: "I am very proud and pleased to be represented by this group." Mr Oriali was part of the national side that won the 1982 World Cup, travelling many miles with an Italian squad that, like the current one, had started off amid concerns from fans, critics and insiders. "We set off surrounded by a great deal of scepticism, then we got through the tournament with three draws, certainly not three good matches, before playing Argentina and Brazil. I can remember phoning my wife and telling her to book some holiday time at the sea the next day, given the first three games and our future adversaries ... Instead, as often happens in football, teams can achieve impossible things, despite being inferior on paper, because they play as a team and that is what happened to us." (AGI). .