Following a heartbreaking penalty shootout defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) has announced sweeping changes to its leadership group.
In the wake of the loss, FIGC president Gabriele Gravina and head of delegation Gianluigi Buffon both stepped down from their respective positions. On Friday, head coach Gennaro Gattuso submitted his letter of resignation as well.
“With pain in my heart, having failed to achieve the target we set ourselves, I am bringing an end to my experience as national team boss,” Gattuso said.
“The blue shirt is the most special one that exists in football and for that reason I need to leave it in the hands of a new technical team going into the future.”
“I must thank president Gravina and Buffon, and all those I’ve worked with at the federation, for the faith and support they have always given me. It was an honor to lead the national team and I did it with a group of lads who always showed fight and devotion to the shirt. The biggest thank you goes to the fans and to all the Italians who never stopped supporting us, even in these last few months.”
Despite having won the World Cup 4 times previously, tied with Germany for the second most titles in tournament history, the Azzurri have now failed to even qualify for the tournament for three straight events. It is the first time in World Cup history that a former champion has missed out on qualifying on 3 consecutive occasions.
This year’s misstep is especially painful for Italian supporters as the tournament expanded its field to 48 nations. While the proud soccer nation will watch from home, upstarts like Curacao, Uzbekistan and Cape Verde will all be proudly donning their nation’s colours in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
As a result of the sweeping changes, Italy will be forced to use an interim coach for their upcoming series of friendlies, including a June 7th match against Greece. The FIGC will now need to vote on a new president on June 22nd, after which a search for a permanent manager can begin in earnest.
The 2026 World Cup kicks off on June 11th and runs through July 19th.
Photo: Martin Swart. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.