FIGC President Gabriele Gravina admits he is ‘sad’ to see Lorenzo Insigne join Toronto FC and refuses to rule out Roberto Mancini will step down as Italy coach if the Azzurri fail to qualify for the World Cup.
Insigne will join Toronto FC on a free transfer from Napoli at the end of the season after failing to reach an agreement with the Partenopei over a contract extension.
“I was sad when I heard the news,” Gravina admitted in an interview with Il Corriere dello Sport.
“I watched him play at Pescara with Verratti and Immobile and it makes me sad to think that he will leave Serie A. I’ve spoken to him and I believe he hasn’t taken this decision lightly, but life is made of choices and that’s how the story has ended.”
Italy won the Euros but have failed to qualify for Qatar 2022, so they must book their place for the competition through the pay-offs in March. Could Roberto Mancini leave if Italy don’t qualify for the World Cup?
“That’s something we will decide together,” the FIGC president added.
“However, the project is not linked to a single result. If it was all down to results, the win at the Euros would be worth a four-year bonus.”
Gravina also commented on Marco Serra’s errors against Milan on Monday.
The 39-year-old cancelled out a Junior Messias’ goal in the final minutes of Milan-Spezia, failing to play advantage and giving a free-kick to Milan. Spezia scored the winner through Emmanuel Gyasi in the last second of the match.
What Ibrahimovic and Theo told Milan vs. Spezia referee Serra
Serra was reduced to tears after the match and several Milan players tried to console him after the game.
“There are many changes ongoing [Serie A designator] Rocchi has picked many young referees and mistakes are normal, but the results are there.
“VAR has been helpful. Somebody forgets there are no longer off-side errors and I want to add that I’ve really appreciated the human reaction of Milan players, an example of sportsmanship.”
Gravina esclusivo: "È l'ora di cambiare il calcio" ⬇️ https://t.co/etDk7fB2ei
— Corriere dello Sport (@CorSport) January 20, 2022
I hope Mancio remains. Lets try and win the semi and then play our hearts out to try and get there. If we do, we can do very well at the WC as well. Forza Italia, sempre avanti.
Mancini can’t get the offense going. Time to go to the young guys on the attack.
Hey Football Italia.
Just a request, please. Look at the second indented paragraph. Does it follow the subject from the first paragraph? Who is 39 years old? The referee from Milan vs Spezia? But you were writing about Gravina’s comments on Insigne in the first paragraph.
Be better.
From his earlier comments (about 6 weeks ago) I do believe Mancio misses the everyday work he gets with Clubs.
Agreed with Tonino. As much as this Playoff absolutely annoys me, we have to back them.
Thank You for the corrections. Much better.