Gian Piero Ventura became a pariah in Italian football after failing to guide the Azzurri to the 2018 World Cup, but in a way he was right following that loss against Sweden.
The now 74-year-old coach was pointed to as the physical embodiment of a failing and outdated style of Italian football following the World Cup qualification failure, with the fault only laying at his door and no-one else’s. He wasn’t impressed by this and suggested that there were more factors at play, but at the time no-one was interested.
Now though, it’s clear that Ventura was correct. The fault was not only his. Italian football clearly has issues and the reaction to Italy’s latest World Cup qualification failure, with many calling for Roberto Mancini to remain in his position, is the correct move. This is despite the fact that losing to Sweden is a little more palatable compared to a defeat against North Macedonia.
Sweeping changes are needed to overhaul the Italian game if the Azzurri want to become one of the top teams in world football again, and now time has proven that Ventura was correct in suggesting that there was more to blame in 2017 than simply him.