The Italian national team bench is vacant once again. This Friday, the Italian Football Federation officially announced the end of Gennaro Gattuso's tenure with the national team, the coach having submitted his resignation. Having taken the reins of Italy on June 15, 2025, the former World Cup-winning midfielder lasted only a handful of months before leaving such a prestigious and volatile position.
An earthquake for Italian football
Outwardly, the departure is intended to be amicable. In reality, it resembles a massive admission of failure for all of Italian football. The break comes amidst a national crisis, as the national team has just suffered another sporting blow. Gattuso leaves behind a battered team, a stunned country, and a federation forced to urgently undertake a new restructuring.
Three consecutive World Cups missed
The rift stemmed from a result no one wanted to relive. Italy missed out on the 2026 World Cup, losing in the playoff to Bosnia and Herzegovina on penalties, marking their third consecutive absence from the tournament. Despite a run of five wins in their group, the Azzurri were ultimately outmatched on goal difference by Norway before collapsing at the worst possible moment, in the decisive match.
Gattuso, a commando mission that became an impossible mission
When he was appointed in June 2025, Gattuso arrived with the image of a strong-willed man, a firefighter capable of revitalizing a team that had lost its way. His mission was simple on paper and daunting in reality: to get Italy back on track for the World Cup. In just a few months, he tried to restore momentum and pride to the group, but the final result swept everything away. In international football, the emotion lasts for a moment; elimination, however, remains.
A crisis that goes beyond just the national coach
Gattuso's departure follows the resignations of federal president Gabriele Gravina and head of delegation Gianluigi Buffon, also linked to the fiasco.
Italy is suffering from a deep-seated problem. For a country with such a tradition, three consecutive World Cup misses are a humiliation. Gattuso's departure marks the beginning of a new rebuilding phase, with the imperative of restoring a sporting, institutional, and mental direction to a national team that has lost its status and prestige.
