Italy Under 21 coach Devis Mangia had nothing but praise for his Azzurrini players despite Tuesday loss in the finals of the European Championships against Spain.
The 39-year-old believes what his players accomplished was something special, despite remaining coy on his future with the team.
“My pride over what he did is great: this is the overwhelming feeling I have,” Mangia told Kiss Kiss Napoli.
“My Under 21 did some incredible things, starting in the group stage. The Netherlands team we faced in the semi-finals was like a first team since so many of them already play in the senior team.
“[Lorenzo] Insigne? Lorenzo is a player of great quality, it was an experience that will help him grow. Napoli will find themselves with a different player, one that is more mature. Now it is right that he gets some rest.
“The defect we had in the finals was our inexperience, which we knew how to overcome against Netherlands in the semis but not against Spain. Our inexperience certainly can’t be pinned on my players.
“We also paid for being a bit tired as we were playing our fifth game. I hope that these Euros were enough to show that some of these players deserve more playing time.
“The goal was to help these players to grow, while bringing some of them closer to being prepared for the senior team.
“[Alvaro] Morata? I struggle to say whether or not he is ready for a team like Napoli. He is certainly an interesting player, but I think that [Ciro] Immobile, [Manolo] Gabbiadini, [Mattia] Destro, [Fabio] Borini and [Alberto] Paloschi are also good enough.
“Will I still be the coach of the Under 21? I don’t know yet, we will see in the coming days what happens. I will make a decision soon as I am evaluating every situation.”
Follow Adriano Boin on Twitter: @Boin44
