Two wins from two games. The Gennaro Gattuso era is officially underway for the Azzurri.

There was an air of real scepticism when the FIGC announced Gattuso as Luciano Spalletti’s replacement. Gattuso, for all he won as a player, had not really shown much as a manager who warranted a call from federation chief Gabriele Gravina.

Perhaps it was a damning indictment of where the Italian national team was at the time that no coach of any significance wanted the job. Claudio Ranieri rejected it, wanting to finally enjoy his retirement after being convinced to save Roma one last time.

Surveying the landscape, who else was there? Max Allegri wasn’t interested in giving up the club game, Roberto Mancini had burned bridges, Maurizio Sarri was still tied to Lazio. Options were slim.

So Gattuso it was. 

With no games for months, Gattuso did the rounds of clubs, hoping to foster a united spirit and rebuild confidence after what was a fairly disastrous spell under Spalletti. 

The prevailing wisdom was that Gattuso would bring back the ‘grinta’ he possessed in spades as a player. Italy’s performances at Euro 2024 were lacklustre and uninspiring, a set of players who appeared burdened and inconvenienced at having to play for the Nazionale.

After two games in charge, it can be argued he has at least managed to restore some level of it.

Estonia were beaten easily enough in Bergamo. The 5-0 scoreline did not reflect Italy’s sheer dominance. Had finishing been better, the game would have ended up a cricket score.

Italy were full of verve and intent against the European minnows and kept a clean sheet – only their fourth in 15 months. The game against Israel, held on neutral ground in Hungary, would be a tougher affair.

That being said, very few would have predicted the goalfest that followed.

The game bordered on the ludicrous at times: Israel would score, and Italy would promptly hit back, and vice versa. 

The pair met twice a year ago in the UEFA Nations League and, despite Spalletti’s problems, Italy had dispatched the Israelis without too much difficulty. 

There was no repeat here, as they left it late to edge it 5-4.

“We’re too fragile, we conceded too easily,” remarked Gattuso.

Fragile would be something of an understatement. The fact Israel looked capable of scoring every time they ventured forward will be a big worry for Gattuso and his staff, Leonardo Bonucci and Gigi Buffon among them.

Defensively Italy were sloppy, the own goals from Manuel Locatelli and Alessandro Bastoni were avoidable, while Italy need better options in defence than Gianluca Mancini if they are to compete against better teams down the road.

It is easy to sway more towards the negatives than positives with the Azzurri these days, so in the interest of balance, they showed character to fight back after going behind, or as Gattuso termed it: “Reacting to every slap in the face.”

Another bonus is the signs of a genuine partnership between Moise Kean and Mateo Retegui, with the latter providing two assists for the Fiorentina man in the two games. 

Italy have not had a genuine partnership at senior level since the days of Antonio Cassano and Mario Balotelli at Euro 2012, and if Kean and Retegui can stay fit and healthy, Gattuso can build his attack around them, despite Retegui playing in the Saudi Pro League.

Midfield, for perhaps the first time decades, is Italy’s strongest area. Sandro Tonali is quietly emerging as a real leader, doing his talking on the pitch. Nicolo Barella was his usual dynamic self and Locatelli can dictate the tempo. Having the likes of Davide Frattesi, Samuele Ricci and Nicolo Rovella on the bench is also a major boost. Matteo Politano and Mattia Zaccagni were full of running and invention on the flanks in Gattuso’s 4-4-2.

It is still early days, and of course the argument can be made it was ‘only’ Estonia and Israel, but there are good and bad elements to take away from the two games.

Italy’s mentality was something Gattuso highlighted as a positive, but the ease at which Israel got in behind his players and caused chaos will be alarming.

Games against the same pair loom on the horizon in October, and the hope is for a better defensive showing than in the near-empty arena in Debrecen.

Yet all Gattuso can do is continue to win games and hope Norway slip up, thus avoiding a third consecutive World Cup play-off.

Improvements will come but for now, six points will do.