A couple of hours later, Marco found Spalletti in his office.
The manager sat behind his desk with the squad list spread out in front of him, a pen resting between his fingers as his eyes moved slowly from one name to the next before returning to the top again.
"How are you?" Marco said, coming in.
"Not worried," Spalletti said before picking his head up, "if it's me we are talking about!"
"If it's about Ukraine," he said as he went back to doing what he was doing before, "I am still not worried."
Hearing that, Marco couldn't help but laugh as he came to the edge of the desk.
"Well, I am glad you are not worried, but what are we doing about that game?"
Spalletti didn't answer that directly.
He set the pen down and looked at the paper and then looked at Marco.
"Some of the players.....veterans," he said, not naming anyone, "like to take charge on the pitch. Which I understand. They've been doing it for years, and it's worked for them."
