FIGC President Gabriele Gravina insists he won’t resign after Italy’s World Cup fiasco and notes clubs don’t help the national team, while Lega Serie A President Lorenzo Casini calls for ‘radical changes.’
The Azzurri have failed to qualify for the World Cup for the second time in a row, and pressure is growing on FIGC President Gravina, who is unwilling to resign.
“The program continues, we must heal the wounds of these huge blows. We lived great times together and we’ll get over this sorrow together,” he said at a press conference last night.
“The result was unfair and the Mancini project will go ahead, same as mine. I must protect the lads and the federation. Surely there have been mistakes, but we must understand if there were short-term or if something needs to be changed radically.
“There’s a lot of resistance from clubs. The national team is not seen as an opportunity but almost as a discomfort. They have a business approach and that’s understandable, but the national team has been left alone.
“Clubs make their own interest, but we can’t just impose our ideas if the project is not shared.”
There was controversy before the fixture against North Macedonia as Lega Serie A refused to postpone the matches of matchday 30 to give more time to the Azzurri to prepare for the play-offs.
“There aren’t available players and something must be changed,” Gravina continued.
“We only have 30% of Italian footballers playing with the youth teams. Many young Italian players don’t have space with their clubs. It’s not the clubs’ fault, but there isn’t enough ‘human material’ to work with and we are trying to do the best we can with what we have.”
New Lega Serie A President Casini, who was appointed just two weeks ago, didn’t seem impressed by Gravina’s claims.
“The failed qualification to the World Cup is a huge failure for Italian football and everyone should seriously think about it, leading to a radical change of our system,” he said this morning.
“I am sad when I think about those children who are waiting to see Italy play at the World Cup. Serie A clubs and players have always answered positively to the national team’s calls and they will continue to do so because it represents a sporting effort that unites the whole country. The national team belongs to everyone.”
The way they run their country is the way they run their soccer. It’s a zoo. That’s why we all live abroad.
It’s the clubs fault!
Yes, Italy is the home of organised chaos; but they have become so obsessed with rigid tactics at club level. This has , over the past 30 odd years, contributed to a lower level of individual skill in players.
There is absolutely no excuse for the Italian FA to not suspend the Serie A matches! They are an absolute disgrace! La Nazionale always come first! Shame on you!
Now the blame game has started when your footballing systems are rotten and corrupt as hell! Bureaucracy hindered innovation to create modern sporting faciliries, Poor governance and sporting failure prevent retention of homegrown talents( insigne and donnarumma), racist fan and bad sporting policies shy away footballing acculturation and now the consequences is failing consecutively to qualify! This is really a shame.
Look at most Serie A line-ups on game day – maybe 1-2 Italians on the pitch per club (if any), as the owners would rather filed with their squads with some cheap non-Italians. Even lower level teams and many Serie B teams are filled with the junk of the world instead of Italians – no wonder we need to import Brazilians to the Nazionale. This has been a problem since 2010, but no one is willing to do anything about it. We are a second rate team now and no signs it will get better. It will be 12 years until our next World Cup game (and only to due the expanded list, and still not a given) – where we will only lose or tie to some small country (remember New Zealand or Costa Rica). Maybe we should stop playing and stick to bocce.
It’s quite simple really – improve Serie A. Build stadiums and infrastructure that encourages more attendance and less Ultras. This will encourage investment and more TV coverage and attract better players.
Look at Serie A’s ‘golden years – 1980s and 90s to its decline in the mid 2000. Italy played three WC finals and 1 semi final plus 2 x Euro finals. Last year was an incredible aberration perhaps as it went against form.
Now look at England (OK, they never win anything) but in the past decades they have achieved the best results for 50 years! And this is because of the success of the PL. The best players and managers are in England – so this naturally improves the English players as they are competing with the best. The Serie A clubs are in a weaker league plus they never play in the later stages of the European cups. Therefore they lack experience.
balotelli is still the better striker in italy , immobile is good but not good enough Mario has time and a precise shot , immobile snatches at every attempt he gets , he alot better at counter attacking football.
New law now! All Serie A clubs must have maximum of 27 players and a minimun of 11 italians in each team!! 2 G.K. 9 to other areas minimun. 1 million fine for every more foreign player!
If a team has 28 or 29 or 30 players these 1,2,3 etc.. players must only be italians AND from their ACADEMY
Mancini makes still the same mistake, his tactic, his line up, and his choice of players.
Immobile and Belotti are not the right strikers, his 4-3-3 system is not working with Veratti and Jorginho.
He must play 4-4-2 with a trequarista, yesterday he should play with Berardi and Raspadori in front or with Berardi en Insigen in front, as trequarista he could played with Insigne. he had so much choice but he did every time the wrong, also in qualification.
Joke of a league/ national team. Who’s going to waste any more time this year watching this “title race” of teams who can’t compete in the Europa league. Not me.
NEW LAW NOW! maximum 27 players in serie a clubs! minimum of 11 italian in each team (2 G.K. 9 others). If you have 28,29,30 players the 1,2,3 etc more players must be ITALIANS and from the ACADEMY! If a team dont have this parameters 1 million fine for each more foreign player !
@ blk star, I agree I mean it’s clearly obvious that Immobile buckles under the pressure when he plays for national team, with Lazio he is a totally different player
Italy is a joke as a whole
@Giancarlo Florio how could a 442 has a trequartista deployed?
Blah, blah, blah is the usual nonsense we hear whenever Italy or Italian clubs fail in Europe, but rarely is anything done.
Expect them to still be arguing about building stadiums in 15 years.
They keep complaining of Italian clubs not playing enough Italians and the problem they have is corruption and lack of innovation… They have refused to change laws to allow clubs build stadiums and improve the league and the league is dying! Young Italian players run abroad the moment they burst into fame because they know they can’t be among the best playing in the Italy and you expect the clubs to keep raising these mercenaries like Donnarumma.
Change laws and improve the quality of the Italian league so that home grown players can stay in the country and best players in the world otherwise it will be the same old story in the next world Cup at well!
Well we are no longer a top country in this sport and the results of last 10 years shows that . Ya we have done better in euro but overall we are a mediocre team . How is it that France has no champions league winners always puts out amazing players or Portugal how many CL have they won lately. Italian hardly ever play outside Italy and can’t keep up with other teams anymore . This is a national humiliation but nothing will change
The Federazione/Lega need to take responsibility. Mancini had asked for more days and was refused. We all know that early September our players are not match fit so why not start the League the same time as England i.e. by 10 August. This would give 3 to 4 matches under the belt. Also, clubs need to stop buying mediocre foreign players. If they are good, then I am all for it but not when they are not much better than our own. For me, country comes before club. After the disaster of 1962 and 1966, la Federazione decided that clubs had to have all Italian players and it worked. I understand under today’s rules you cannot do this but how about having a limit i.e. at least 60% of the squad should be Italian. It’s not only me that is saying this. Even Fabrizio Ravanelli stated this a few months ago on Juventus but he meant on all the Italian clubs. The problem is we know what the problem is but nothing changes and now we risk in losing probably the best CT that Italy has had. I do not think he should resign and nor should Gravina but please sort this out as we should have been qualified already. England and many other countries are very pleased that we are out and that’s because we would have been a threat at the WC.
You say improve serie a but are on a go for witch hunt on juve the moment you see something in news.
0 juve players yesterday, apart from chiellini 2 minutes.
Give inter 3-0 against bologna, they cant win macedonia with barella as italy star player
The main problem is where are the superstars the Baggios the Tottis the Pirlos, the youth system is not producing them only average players that makes other countries not feel any fear when they face the azzurri
blah blah blah, its the same bs over and over again. The world is not ending. Pull your heads out of your arses. Italy dominated proceedings but could not score against a team that did nothing and defended with 10 players the entire game. We have seen this before. The offense is the problem but that shouldn’t surprise anyone. Mancini has brought a new style of play to Italy. Its still not perfect and wont be until the attack/offense becomes more clinical and ruthless but its still progress from the days of catenaccio and small team mentality. And please don’t tell me we should go back to that because we have seen Spain and a few other teams put Italy to the sword when they do that. If they hadn’t won the Euros they would have been in the WC. They played lazy and without motivation against Bulgaria and N. Ireland. We all know that’s Italy. One day win something and the next day loose everything. Being more clinical in front of goal is not just NT problem though, its a problem with Serie A players in general and can be seen when the teams play in CL and Euros also.
@Damir Bravo! Starting with Gravina who also jumped onto the bandwagon. Juve are the trendsetters for investing in infrastructure. First to own their stadium and make a real viable business. Instead of taking pop shots, learn. Without a strong Juve, the nazionale suffers. Always been the way.
Italy is living in the past & it’s partly due to dinosaurs like Gravina beeing in charge
This ‘necessary connection’ that some seem to establish between the financial strength of a national football league, on the one hand, and the technical performance of the respective national team in the country, on the other, is very far from being something obvious, evident, that obeys to logical parameters of evaluation and analysis. Considering that the English Team, although it has even improved its results in international tournaments throughout the 21st century, has not yet managed to obtain any title, while Italy won the World Cup in 2006 and the Euro last year. The French team has achieved excellent results, even though the country’s national league is relatively weak compared to the Spanish or English league. In other words, it is a much more complex issue, which involves multiple variables.
Excuse me Gravina but, it’s definitely the fault of clubs for not drafting youngsters into their respective senior teams. If it’s not their job, then whose job is it? The mums and dads of these younger players perhaps?? Or maybe nonna and nonno? Geezes there’s always an excuse isn’t there!
Things will never change..
No surprise only fans saw this result coming. Italy was never going to make the World Cup once they were drawn against Portugal. This is a team that one the Euro going extra time in every round and saved by var in the round of 16.
Instead of building new stadiums and working on there crowd issues, build a youth program like what Germany did in the early 2000. Play more attractive football instead of negative rigid tactical game (looking at Allegri). Instead they’re more focus on Juve and super league and Juve investigation and all this nonsense trying to finally put the nail in the Serie A coffin.
@Gman
Thank you.
Tearing it all down and rebuilding is not the answer.
All the England fans trying to rip Italy apart. Maybe I’ll take them seriously when their NT actually becomes a threat.
The colossal and monumental issue with Italy is the clinical finishes, we have had this issue for the past decade but even in the 90’s where we had the great players.
Italy need to establish a special academy just on the finishers factor.
This is the real issue. During the 2nd Lippi spell and Prandelli I counted us hitting the crossbar and posts at least 100 hundred time’s. In fact during one of the WC on the training grounds journalists at the Italian camp reported how Italy would hit the crossbeam and posts even in training warmups and could not hit the net-I kid you not!
Not normal and this can also segway into the paranormal factor. And needs to be addressed.