7 hours ago
Dilly ding, dilly dong! Italy press the big World Cup panic button again
CIAO, LUCIANO
When Italy were humbled by Norway in their opening World Cup qualifier on Friday night, the response from Gazzetta dello Sport was as measured as you would expect. 'ENOUGH!' screamed the pink paper's front-page headline the next day, while the lengthy howl of anguish over which it appeared declared that the country's 'World Cup is already at risk'. While Luciano Spalletti had been bullish in the immediate aftermath of his knack-ravaged side's 3-0 defeat in Oslo, on Sunday he cut a far more forlorn figure as he appeared alone before a bloodthirsty press-pack to preview the qualifier against Moldova, unaccompanied by any of his players or even a simpering national team media handler.
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'I spoke with [Italian FA chief suit Gabriele] Gravina last night and he informed me that I will be relieved of my duties as national team coach,' Spalletti sniffed, salty tears visible as his hawk-eyed not-quite-former Signor Gravina peered his way from the front row. 'I am disappointed: given the relationship we have, I had no intention of stepping down. Especially when things are not going well, I would have preferred to stay and do my job. However, it is a dismissal and I have to accept it. I have always seen this role as a service to my country and I want to facilitate the future of the national team. I think it is right to seek the best solution.' While Italian panic at the prospect of missing out on a third consecutive World Cup is as understandable as it is stereotypical, it could be argued the knee-jerk decision to bundle Spalletti out of the door marked Do One is more than a little shabby and not just because he had to announce his own dismissal and will still be in charge later, when Italy host Moldova.
Having masterminded Napoli's first scudetto in 33 years two seasons ago, the first thing he did was get a memento of the achievement indelibly inked on his left forearm before announcing he would be taking a 12-month sabbatical, citing exhaustion. Just a couple of months later, he agreed to leave the Tuscan farm that is his happy place and step into the Italian managerial breach after a Roberto Mancini-shaped hole was left in the national FA's exit door when his head was turned, Exorcist-style, by a megabucks offer from Saudi Arabia. Hampered by knack and lengthy suspensions to key players, Spalletti's reign has not been plain sailing and many felt he ought to have been binned off following the Azzurri's meek exit from Euro 2024. Instead, the powers that be let him continue in his post before pulling the trigger after just one setback in World Cup qualifying.
Having jettisoned the 66-year-old Spalletti, Italy have set their sights on a comparative novice in Claudio Ranieri, actually 73. Despite his advancing years, The Tinkerman was fit enough to move upstairs to a directorial role at Roma last month without the help of the engineers at Stannah, and is believed to be up for the job of managing Italy, as long as he doesn't have to give up his advisory role with the Giallorossi. Should he take up the cudgels reluctantly laid down by Spalletti, his first game in charge will be at home to Estonia in September. Italy's players can expect to be dilly-dinged and dilly-donged into serious action if they are to avoid the ignominy of missing their third World Cup in a row.
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QUOTE OF THE DAY
Taking into account the circumstances and a loss of trust in the coach [Michal Probierz], I have decided to resign from playing for the Poland national team for as long as he remains in charge. I hope I will still have another chance to play again for the best fans in the world' – Robert Lewandowski reacts well to losing the captain's armband.
FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS
So Spurs sack Ange at exactly one minute past the time that Football Daily was sent out. That is so Spursy and not Spursy at the same time. Frank-ly, I am not surprised' – Nigel Sanders.
Brentford lost eight and won only one of Thomas Frank's first 10 games in charge. How long do you think he would last at Tottenham if that happened there?' – Russell Wallman.
Possibly the second instance of a tragic figure called Ange, stumbling from one crisis to the next, getting their divorce papers after their greatest triumph' – Kev McReady.
Apropos of nothing, Tottenham Hotspur's next competitive fixture is a cup final. Ryan Mason must be kicking himself for leaving to join West Brom …' – Noble Francis.
I'm not sure New Zealand could support, as Jon Millard put it, the weight of CR7's ego. It's already snapped in the middle' – Jarrod Prosser.
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Members of the Chile squad enjoy a training session at Wembley in February 1998. They were just as enthusiastic in the friendly itself, beating a lacklustre England 2-0 thanks to two strikes from Marcelo Salas.
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