The Italian coach, Gennaro Gattuso, and captain Gianluigi Donnarumma attended the opening of the new football museum in Coverciano on Wednesday. Their presence symbolized the connection between a glorious past and an uncertain present. While the museum displays the trophies that made Italy great, it also serves as a painful reminder of the team's recent decline. Despite winning Euro 2020, Italy have failed to qualify for the last two World Cups. Donnarumma admitted to feeling “a lot of responsibility” to avoid a third consecutive failure, a possibility that, to this day, remains very real under the new management of Gennaro Gattuso .
From European champions to total chaos
Italy's failure to qualify for the World Cup has become a worrying trend. The play-off defeat to Sweden in 2017, under Gian Piero Ventura, was a warning sign. However, the absence at Qatar 2022 was a devastating blow. Roberto Mancini's team, then European champions, failed to overcome North Macedonia in the play-offs, a failure marked by a surprising lack of effectiveness.
Mancini continued but surprisingly resigned in August 2023, in the midst of a Euro 2024 qualifying campaign. Luciano Spalletti, newly crowned Serie A champion with Napoli, was brought in to put out the fire and managed to qualify the team for the continental tournament. However, Euro 2024 exposed the team's weaknesses. Italy barely advanced from the group stage with a 98th-minute goal against Croatia, only to be emphatically eliminated by Switzerland in the round of 16.
A surprise successor for Spalletti
It was hoped that, given more time, Spalletti would be able to rebuild the team. However, a humiliating 3-0 defeat to Norway in the first 2026 World Cup qualifier sealed his fate. Spalletti himself admitted that "something has to change," and that something was him. The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) decided to dismiss him, and the search for a successor capable of turning things around led to an unexpected choice: Gennaro Gattuso .
Why Italy turned to Gennaro Gattuso
With options like Claudio Ranieri and Stefano Pioli ruled out, the FIGC opted for a member of the 2006 world champion team, choosing Gennaro Gattuso over other candidates such as Daniele De Rossi and Fabio Cannavaro. Known for his fierce nickname 'Ringhio' (Growl) as a player, Cannavaro's coaching career Gennaro Gattuso had been equally intense, although with only one major trophy under his belt (the 2019-20 Coppa Italia with Napoli).
FIGC President Gabriele Gravina strongly defended the choice, highlighting the “determination” and “desire to achieve something great” of Gennaro Gattuso. “The National Team needs it and Gennaro Gattuso responded to the call without hesitation,” said Gravina, highlighting his professionalism, his spirit of sacrifice and his ability to put “we” before “I”. The federation trusts that the mentality and experience of Gennaro Gattuso will be key to overcoming the pressure.
'A few slaps'
The beginning of the era of Gennaro Gattuso It's been predictably dramatic. Their first match ended with a resounding 5-0 victory over Estonia, a result that, according to defender Alessandro Bastoni, came thanks to the "determination and drive" instilled by the new coach. "He gives us a lot of determination and drive, and also a few slaps in the face, which we perhaps needed to wake up," Bastoni commented.
The second match was a roller coaster: a 5-4 victory against Israel that Israel itself Gennaro Gattuso He described it as the “craziest” match of his life. While praising his team’s mentality and responsiveness, he also pointed to their defensive weaknesses as an urgent problem: “If we want to achieve anything significant, we have to improve.”
The prospect of another play-off
Italy's hopes of direct qualification for the World Cup hang in the balance. The team is six points behind Norway in Group I, so the play-offs seem the most likely destination, according to team manager Gigi Buffon. The priority now is to secure at least that play-off spot, and to that end the upcoming matches against Estonia and Israel are crucial. A win in Tallinn and another in Udine against Israel would put them in a favorable position. However, the match against Israel will be played in an atmosphere made rarefied by protests related to the conflict in Gaza, a situation that Buffon himself Gennaro Gattuso regretted.
From a sporting perspective, the team has reason for optimism. Key players such as Bastoni, Nicolò Barella, and Sandro Tonali are in good form, and the attacking partnership between Moise Kean and Mateo Retegui has been one of the positive surprises. Despite doubts about the defense, Donnarumma's quality between the sticks will be crucial. As captain, his leadership is vital to avoid a historic third consecutive failure to qualify for a World Cup. "We must give everything to write new pages in the history books," declared the goalkeeper. For now, for Gennaro Gattuso and his team, simply qualifying would be a monumental achievement.
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