"Gazeta" on the collapse of Italy: The third apocalypse, this is becoming the norm

The defeat of the Italian national football team to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the play-off for the World Cup was called the "Third Apocalypse" by the newspaper "Gazeta delo Sport" on its front page today.

Italy lost to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the play-off final in Zenica last night after a penalty shootout with a score of 4:1, after the match was tied 1:1 after regular time and extra time.

This is the third time in a row that Italy has failed to qualify for the World Cup, and "Gazeta" writes in its editorial that "there is no longer a sense of shock or unexpected disaster."

"This is becoming the norm," it said.

Italy was eliminated by Sweden and North Macedonia in the previous two World Cup qualifying rounds.

The problems in Italian football extend beyond the national team.

The last Italian club to win the Champions League was Inter in 2010, while in this year's strongest European competition, all four Italian clubs were eliminated before the quarter-finals.

"It's like we're not ready for a big game. We're not ready when it matters most, when you're under pressure," said Salvatore Korso, a 34-year-old Italian after watching Italy's defeat in a cafe in Rome.

Between the failures that happen every four years, the national team is neglected.

One after another, Italian coaches have unsuccessfully lobbied for more training camps outside of the pre-determined Fifa international breaks.

Under pressure from TV rights holders, Serie A has consistently refused to move matches to give national team players more time to rest, which was the case when the Fiorentina - Inter match was played on Sunday evening, the night before the national team's gathering.

With the accumulation of failures, it also seems that Italian experts do not want a job in the national team.

Roberto Mancini left the Italy bench before the 2024 European Championship to take charge of the Saudi Arabian national team.

Gian Piero Ventura, who led Italy during their defeat to Sweden in 2017, has never coached a major club.

When Luciano Spalletti was sacked after Italy lost their first qualifying match to Norway last year, Claudio Ranieri turned down the offer to replace him, and the much less experienced Gennaro Gattuso was hired in his place.