Franco Baresi has referred to as for Italian soccer to conduct a collective examination of conscience following the Azzurri’s third consecutive World Cup elimination, whereas defending Gennaro Gattuso from the majority of the criticism being directed his method.
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The Milan legend and former Italy captain spoke to Adnkronos within the aftermath of Wednesday’s penalty shootout defeat to Bosnia, with , acknowledging that key incidents on the night time had labored towards the Azzurri whereas insisting the deeper issues lengthen far past a single match or supervisor.
MILAN, ITALY – NOVEMBER 16: Gennaro Gattuso, Head Coach of Italy, appears to be like on previous to the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier match between Italy and Norway at San Siro Stadium on November 16, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Picture by Marco Luzzani/Getty Photos)
Baresi: ‘Italian soccer should do a ‘mea culpa’, Gattuso to not blame’
“Yesterday there have been episodes that conditioned the match negatively for our crew,” Baresi mentioned, a reference to Alessandro Bastoni’s first-half purple card, which left Italy with ten males for almost all of the competition.
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“However Italy can not maintain arriving on the final stage simply to play for qualification. The entire of Italian soccer should do a mea culpa, as a result of the outcomes of the final twenty years are there for everybody to see, with the remoted exception of the European Championship triumph.”
Regardless of that broad indictment of the system, Baresi was notably protecting of Gattuso.
“In these months he gave all the things, his soul, and in my view he additionally did a great job with the little time he had accessible,” he mentioned. “Sadly it was not sufficient. It isn’t for me to say whether or not he ought to proceed, however he’s actually among the many least chargeable for this defeat.”
It’s a sentiment that contrasts sharply with among the extra sweeping criticism aimed on the teaching workers since Wednesday night time, and one which displays a broader view that Italy’s issues are structural reasonably than the product of any particular person failure.