Italy Under-21 boss Devis Mangia has accepted full responsibility for the defeat to the Republic of Ireland which had consequences on the record books.
The Azzurrini somehow lost 4-2 to the Irish on Monday despite the fact that their opponents actually ended the game with just nine men.
Italy Under-21 boss Devis Mangia has accepted full responsibility for the defeat to the Republic of Ireland which had consequences on the record books.
The Azzurrini somehow lost 4-2 to the Irish on Monday despite the fact that their opponents actually ended the game with just nine men.
“There is only one person to blame for these types of performances, displays where mistakes are made on a tactical and mental level,” the former Palermo tactician stated.
“I am that person, the responsibility is mine. There are no individuals to blame, it’s more of a general thing.
“Now if we are able to analyse this in the right manner then these situations could become useful for the future.
“But I want to underline that these youngsters are not over-cooked. You can’t throw away all of the good work so far because of one game.”
Although the defeat didn’t have any ramifications on their European Championship qualifying campaign – Italy are already through to the play-offs – it did set a few negative records.
The defeat was the Under-21s first home loss for 10 years since a 3-0 against Turkey back in November 2002.
The Azzurrini, from 1942 onwards, had also never previously conceded four goals in a home game before.
Mangia replaced Ciro Ferrara this summer after the latter accepted an offer from newly promoted Sampdoria.