Gattuso resigns as Italy coach after World Cup disaster

Sports Desk

Gennaro Gattuso resigned as Italy coach on Friday, citing the Azzurri’s failure to reach the World Cup for the third consecutive time as a major blow to Italian football.

The 2006 World Cup winner left Italy just a year after taking charge. The Italian team has fallen behind its historical rivals France and Spain in the past two decades.

A penalty shootout defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the qualifying play-off final on Tuesday ultimately cost Gattuso his job, and the president of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), which appointed him, also resigned.

Immediately after his departure to Genoa, Gabriele Gravina urged Gattuso to stay, but Gravina’s departure and the departure of national team general manager Gianluigi Buffon paved the way for the 48-year-old Gattuso to resign.

Gattuso took charge of Italy in June last year after the sacking of Luciano Spalletti, who himself suffered a disastrous failure to defend his title at Euro 2024 and a 3-0 defeat to Erling Haaland’s Norway in their first World Cup qualifier.

On paper, Gattuso’s record is impressive—six wins, one loss, and one draw in eight matches. In those, his team scored 22 goals and conceded 10.

But that only draw was a 1-1 draw with Bosnia, with Italy missing twice in the subsequent penalty shootout. The loss, on the other hand, was another humiliating 4-1 defeat to Norway, which took place at the San Siro.

Gattuso’s choice to replace Spalletti was seen as an odd choice given his uncertain record at the club, and he was heavily criticised after his departure on Tuesday.