New Italy soccer coach hopes to surprise

(ANSA) - Rome, July 19 - The new coach of Italy's national soccer team Giampiero Ventura said on Tuesday he hoped to surprise as he held his first news conference after taking over the post from Antonio Conte.
    The former Torino coach said the Euro championships in France, in which Italy was knocked out by Germany in the quarter finals, had shown that with organisation and consistency the team could achieve significant results.
    He said he would build on Conte's side but then hoped to put his own mark on it, "hoping to surprise".
    He will only have a few days to prepare for a friendly against Euro 2016 finalists France in Bari on September 1, so the starting point would be the team Conte formed for the championship, but he would also give some young players an opportunity, he said. Ventura will be Azzurri boss for the next two years as Conte has moved to England to manage Chelsea. Italian Soccer Federation (FIGC) Chief Carlo Tavecchio has said Ventura was chosen for his "experience, group management and significant moral gifts".