At least Spalletti apologized. For the elimination, for the disappointment it caused, for the ways in which it was determined: rarely, perhaps never, have we seen such an ugly Italy, poor in play, ideas, even competitive nastiness. At least he, the coach, took the blame: “I am the first responsible”. And he also admitted what we have been saying for a long time, more or less since the European Championship began: there is a profound difference between the role of coach and that of selector. As we have written, a great coach is not necessarily also a great coach, and perhaps Luciano has the characteristics to be very good when he can work with the players for a long time, he is less so if he has to choose them, train for a few days and send them straight onto the pitch. We remain convinced that this is the case, although Spalletti has legitimately claimed to think differently: “The coach’s outfit suits me very well, I have to learn quickly”. The problem is that time – the first half – has already run out. And a disaster has occurred.
Gravina’s apologies
—
At least Spalletti apologized. Gravina made excuses. And he diverted responsibility elsewhere, far from himself anyway. Under his management, Italy won a European Championship but, after the great night at Wembley, the national team fans were plunged into a nightmare. We were scandalized by the failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia – a failure that had cost Tavecchio his seat – and we also managed to miss out on Qatar 2022, eliminated by North Macedonia. A defeat that did not cause earthquakes, neither at the top of the Football Federation nor around Mancini’s bench. Now comes this new sensational reverse, the second in two years. Nevertheless…
obstacles to the national team?
—
Yet the federal president does not take responsibility: he distributes it to others. Fairly, a little to everyone, and never mind if there’s nothing left for him. It’s the fault of foreigners, for example: “In Italy 67 percent of the players are not Italian.” As if only the English played in England, or in Spain only the Spaniards. Not to mention the national teams – for example France or Switzerland itself, but the discussion could even extend outside Europe, in particular to Brazil and world champion Argentina – who are forced to recall almost all their players from other Countries and from other continents every time they have to play a match. Another culprit: the calendar. “There are rules that do not favor the development of our football and despite this everyone wants to reduce the space for the national teams,” says Gravina. But is it only Italy that doesn’t have time to work? Did De la Fuente and Yakin, the two coaches who gave us football lessons in this European Championship, have more players available than Spalletti? Or is the crowding of calendars – determined exclusively by FIFA and UEFA (of which Gravina is vice-president) – a problem common to the whole world? Have the Nations League, the Conference League, the Club World Cup or other Champions League matches been added just for our footballers in recent years?
solutions for italy
—
The truth is that, after having seen the Azzurri at the European Championships, and having listened to the voices of the protagonists, we are worried. Italy, this Italy, risks not even qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. An immediate turnaround is needed, but can the same men who created this disaster provide it? Gravina raises a wall around himself, almost annoyed by the comments that are made against him and Spalletti’s management. He talks about a project that looks to the future, as if in the recent past there haven’t already been two projects that failed miserably: a World Cup and a European Championship. And he talks about the prospects of him leading the Football Association as if there should be a follow-up even beyond the end of his mandate in March next year. In 2014 Abete and Prandelli resigned a few minutes after the defeat against Uruguay which cost us elimination from the qualifying round in Brazil (and to think that that was the last match we played in a World Cup). In 2017 Tavecchio resigned seven days after the historic and terrible 0-0 draw against Sweden which denied us qualification for Russia 2018. Gravina: “I don’t listen to the instrumental criticisms that refer to my resignation”. Better to talk about too many foreigners and that calendar that is our enemy.
