Skip to main content

Italy sacks coach after failure to qualify for the 2018 Russia world cup


The 69-year-old was relieved of his duties two days after his side shockingly failed to overcome Sweden in a two-leg qualifying play-off

Gian Piero Ventura has been sacked as Italy manager after overseeing a catastrophic World Cup qualifying failure.

For the first time since 1958 Italy have failed to qualify for the World Cup, with a 0-0 draw against Sweden on Monday at San Siro clinching a 1-0 aggregate victory for the Swedes in their qualifying play-off.

And the debacle has cost Ventura his job, as the FIGC confirmed in a statement released on Wednesday.

"During a meeting called by FIGC president Carlo Tevecchio... the failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia was discussed," the missive states.

"As the first order of business Tevecchio revealed the release of the entire technical team and, from today onwards, Gian Piero Ventura is no longer coach of the national team."

Ventura refused to hand in his resignation immediately following the Sweden match, saying he needed time to speak with the Italian federation president.

“I didn’t resign because I haven't met [with the] Italian FA chairman yet. We’ll meet in the next days, we’ll discuss about it. There are many things to talk about," he said on Monday.

"Until the play-off we were progressing as foreseen, then we’ve been unlucky not to score against them [Sweden]. I apologize to the Italians. Only for the result, not for the effort we put in every game.”

But the decision has now been taken out of his hands, as he is forced out of the post after a year-and-a-half in charge.

Ventura took over for Antonio Conte following Italy's successful Euro 2016 run, when they bowed out on penalties to Germany in the quarter-finals.
Conte was considered to have overachieved with that Italy side, who were short on talent in comparison to Azzurri teams of the past.

But Ventura failed to achieve what his predecessor had during his time at the helm, with Italy regressing in a World Cup qualifying campaign that counted a 1-1 home draw to Macedonia last month among its more disappointing results.

Ventura could only lead Italy to a second-place finish in UEFA World Cup qualifying Group G, finishing five points behind group winners Spain and setting up a play-off with the Swedes to reach the world cup only to loose the match thereby quashing Italy's world cup dream.



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Michael Kors Buys Italy's Versace Fashion House For $2.12 Billion

Fashion company Michael Kors is buying Versace, the Italian luxury brand founded by Gianni Versace in 1978, for $2.12 billion. The two fashion houses made the announcement Tuesday, one day after speculation spread about a potential deal. Donatella Versace, the artistic director of the Milan-based fashion house who helped lead the company after her brother's death in 1997, said it's the perfect time for the company to join with Michael Kors. "It has been more than 20 years since I took over the company along with my brother Santo and daughter Allegra," Donatella Versace said in a news release. "I am proud that Versace remains very strong in both fashion and modern culture."

Flair, parties, the exuberant world of Ronaldinho

The man who once lobbed England’s David Seaman from 40 yards, Ronaldinho has officially hung up his boots following a career of backheels, nutmegs, no-look passes, and Parisian party nights. Tricks, flicks and stepovers, to watch Ronaldinho play in his prime was to savour a festival of the “jogo bonito” — the beautiful game in his native Portuguese — and that always with his goofy smile. Both on and off the pitch, Ronaldinho was a free spirit, almost as infamous for his nocturnal lifestyle as he was famous for his silky skills. And it was the former that perhaps contributed to a gradual petering out of what was nonetheless a trophy-laden career. World Cup winner in 2002, Ballon d’Or winner in 2005, Champions League winner in 2006 and Copa Libertadores winner in 2013, Ronaldinho won the lot for both club and country. “God has been good to me, he allowed me to live football,” Ronaldinho told So Foot magazine in July. “I loved what I did… and I had the satisfaction of enjoying myse

Islamic State releases purported audio message from Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

The leader of the Islamic State group urged followers to burn their enemies everywhere and target "media centers of the infidels," according to an audio recording released Thursday that the extremists said was by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The reclusive leader of Islamic State, who has only appeared in public once, also vowed to continue fighting and lavished praise on his jihadis for their valor in the battlefield — despite the militants' loss of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul in July. "You soldiers of the caliphate, heroes of Islam and carriers of banners: light a fire against your enemies," said al-Baghdadi, a shadowy cleric who has been surrounded by controversy since the Sunni terror group emerged from al-Qaida in Iraq, its forerunner. Russian officials said in June there was a "high probability" that al-Baghdadi had died in a Russian airstrike on the outskirts of the Syrian city of Raqqa, the group's de facto capital. US officials later said