HUMILIATION FOR THE REFERRING CHAMPION
EURO 1980, the Italian team was considered bad, but at least they reached the semi-finals and then 2 years later, they won the world championship in Spain. Looking at the Italian team now, with their soulless and weak playing style, no one can think that 2 years from now, at the 2026 World Cup, they will do something great. They are simply a collection of 11 different people in a loose team, playing a football without ideas, without philosophy, without identity, without a bit of personality and without any stars. A round zero that hurt the hearts of those who loved them and then provoked the anger we have seen in the past, after the Italian team failed to qualify for the World Cup twice. Memories of the 2006 World Cup in the German summer and the 2020 EURO championship seem to be lost in the sadness and disappointment that arose after the Italian team’s failures. But this year’s defeat left a greater sense of humiliation, even shame, because the defending champions played such poor football.
Goalkeeper Gigi Donnarumma's brilliance could not help Italy advance.
Except for the first half of the match against Albania, all that remained was a mess, bland, boring, even a little scary, and then when it was all over, as Fabrizio Roncone of the daily newspaper Corriere della Sera wrote, a different mood emerged, accompanied by an action, a sigh of relief. A sigh of relief at having lifted a heavy burden that had haunted them since the beginning of the tournament, from a football that made people suffer.
REBUILDING FOR W ORLD C UP 2026
Now it is a rebuilding journey for the 2026 World Cup, which Italy do not want to miss again. But who will lead the Azzurri in that? It is Spalletti, who has been contracted until the end of the 2026 World Cup. The coach has been heavily criticised for the failure in Germany and he himself has accepted responsibility for this failure. He made mistakes in selecting personnel for the EURO trip, made mistakes in assessing the opponent, and then came up with the wrong tactical formation, leading to the wrong approach to the match. 4-3-3 is a formation that is only suitable for an attacking style of play, based on the current personnel and spirit. But that formation was too adventurous for the match against Switzerland, who almost beat the hosts, and in fact it proved to be a suicidal tactical scheme.
Italy failed to defend the championship.
The Italian press also criticized Spalletti for being "naive", "innocent" and "talkative", specifically for talking too much and too long in press conferences, while his players lacked the logic and clarity of the football they needed to perform as he wanted. In short, a total failure, in every aspect. Without Gigi Donnarumma in goal, Italy certainly would not have gone as far as the round of 16 and the number of goals conceded could have been double the five they conceded. He was the only Italian player who showed that he was at the international level. But despite being captain, he was not a leader. An Italian team without stars, without leaders, without those who can make the difference.
The resurgence of Italian football in European competitions over the past two years has left no trace in the Italian national team, as if they were two parallel entities with no connection whatsoever. That is something to think about. In two years' time, the World Cup will be in Canada, the United States and Mexico. With the current players, the Italian national team has almost no hope.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/khi-mau-thien-thanh-tro-nen-vo-hon-185240630213654726.htm
Comment (0)