It is worth noting, though, that Gattuso retains the support of the players and several influential figures within the Italian game, with Franco Baresi, for example, arguing that the World Cup winner “is certainly among the least responsible for this defeat”. Indeed, Italian Football Federation (FIGC) president Gabriele Gravina is widely regarded as the main culprit, given this is the second World Cup failure on his watch.
“I thank the team and the coach for the commitment they showed, but it’s evident that Italian football needs to be rebuilt, and this process must start with a renewal of the FIGC leadership,” Italy’s Minister for Sport, Andrea Abodi, said in a statement released on Wednesday morning.
At the time of writing, Gravina has yet to stand down, but the pressure on him is mounting – even though he was only re-elected to his role last year with 98.68 percent of the vote. Lazio president Claudio Lotito has gone so far as to launch a petition in the Italian Senate calling for the FIGC chief to resign, while Gravina did his hopes of survival no good at all by describing other sports as “amateur” compared to the “professional” world of football.
Gravina, though, clearly has no intention of being either pushed – or rushed – out the door. He’s set to speak about the calcio crisis with representatives from Serie A, Serie B, Serie C, the amateur leagues, and the coaches’ and players’ associations in Rome on Thursday afternoon, and has called a Federal Council meeting for next week.
“That is when there will be evaluations,” Gravina said. “I understand that people will call for my resignation, but there is a suitable situation to do that. Next week we will make much deeper reflections on the situation, because the questions you ask require the right place to respond.
“The FIGC has to decide how to choose and build its team. We can only do what we can with what we have at our disposal in the league.”
