Reigning European champions Italy embarrassed themselves at Euro 2024, exiting the tournament in the round of 16 at the hands of Switzerland. Luciano Spalletti’s team performed well below expectations as the Nati thumped them 2-0 on Saturday.
An underwhelming result in Germany has cast a significant doubt on Spalletti’s future as Italy boss. However, the president of the Italian Football Federation, Gabriele Gravina, put such speculation to rest, reiterating his trust in the former Napoli manager amid calls for his sacking.
“I’m very pragmatic, and you can’t think of abandoning a multi-year project just after a few months,” Gravina said, as quoted by Calciomercato. “We all need to grow. When you fall, you have to get up again with the strength of the project and work.
“I don’t shy away from responsibilities, but we keep the political ones separate from the technical ones,” the Italy bigwig continued. “The sense of responsibility implies lucidity on my part at this time. We cannot think of carrying out acts that could do even worse damage.
“Spalletti has our trust,” Gravina was adamant.
Saturday’s loss to Switzerland was only the tip of the iceberg. Italy could’ve seen writings on the wall already in the group stages. Since a come-from-behind 2-1 win against Albania on day one, Spalletti’s men stuttered against better-ranked opponents.
While Spain outclassed Italy in round two, Mattia Zaccagni’s last-gasp equalizer against Croatia spared Gli Azzurri further embarrassment. There was no salvation against Switzerland. Dominated in every aspect of the game, the Euro 2024 winners suffered a disgraceful elimination.
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