And thera? A night of reflections, of conversations and with an eye on the next 24 hours, not so much on the future, evaluating what the reactions will be in Italy from the political and sports world in relation to the new failure. The closing press conference of the European Championship will be held today (12.30) at Casa Azzurri. The National team is still in Germany. During the night it reached the retreat in Iserlohn, forty kilometers from Dortmund. Gravina and Spalletti started talking on the bus to the airport in Berlin. This morning, it is obvious, they will have to give an account to Italy and clearly demonstrate how to restart Italian football. But they themselves are awaiting judgment. We win with the youth teams and that’s it. The national team is slipping one failure after another. Two failures to qualify for the World Cup (the last participation in Brazil in 2014) and we did not defend the 2021 European title with dignity. Wembley heroes transfigured in Berlin surrender.
Spalletti’s future, the line of thought: the scenario
Spalletti, immediately after the collapse against Switzerland, clarified his intention to stay with a note: he still had to deal with Gravina, who remained silent and invisible in the belly of the Olympiastadion. Lucio has assumed his responsibilities, from his point of view he wants to move forward, setting up a long-term project. A choice made last summer, when he enthusiastically accepted the job on August 15th, entering the race after Mancini’s resignation. He is done with the clubs and certainly doesn’t want to end an Italian experience that is still in its embryonic stage. He didn’t have time, he was affected by injuries. It is clear there was some error of judgment. The national team did not have a clear identity and showed poor form. The analyzes with the staff will focus on the athletic condition of the group, but the future of the coach (under contract until the 2026 World Cup) will inevitably be linked to the dynamics of Via Allegri. Gravina hired him, having been under pressure for some time and nearing the end of his federal mandate. Immediately or in a few months he could find himself with another president.
Gravina in the crosshairs of politics
The current FIGC governance believes in Spalletti and will continue to defend him, even if the management of the tournament in Germany has raised inevitable doubts. In the round of 16 they could have gone out, but overall the Azzurri have disappointed. In September they will start again with the Nations League. A very tough group with Mbappé’s France, Lukaku’s Belgium and Israel. Between March and June 2025 the World Cup qualifiers will start. The focal point concerns Gravina more than Spalletti. The president defended his position and went on to 2022 after the night in Palermo and the defeat against Macedonia. In these hours, it is foreseeable, his enemies will come back to attack, not only in the sports field. At Palazzo Chigi he does not enjoy great support: minister Abodi and Malagò, president of CONI, will listen to Gravina’s assessments. The next elections in via Allegri are scheduled for March. He retains control of a large part of the federal components, but the relationship with the Serie A League has never been relaxed. This morning we will find out what the long silences in Berlin, where we only saw Lucio’s face, have produced.
