Gattuso is in danger…the World Cup earthquake hits Italian football

Italian Football Federation President Gabriele Gravina resigned after the national team failed to qualify for the World Cup for the third time in a row.
The Italian government urged Gravina, who has been president of the federation since 2018, to resign from his position following Italy’s defeat on penalties in the European play-off final against Bosnia and Herzegovina last Tuesday.
The Italian Football Federation said in a statement that it will hold an extraordinary general assembly meeting on June 22 to elect a new president, and that Gravina has offered to appear before a parliamentary committee on April 8 “to present a report on the state of Italian football.”
But that session has now been cancelled, with the committee awaiting the election results.
The last time Italy qualified for the World Cup was in 2014, and the team has only won one match in the finals since winning the title for the fourth time in 2006.
Former goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, head of the national team delegation, also announced his resignation via social media.
Former Italy goalkeeper Buffon, a member of the 2006 World Cup-winning team, wrote on Instagram that he initially tendered his resignation immediately after the loss to Bosnia, but was asked to take time to think.
Buffon added: “Now that President Gravina has decided to step down, I feel free to do what I consider responsible.”
He continued: “Because even with my sincere conviction that I achieved a lot in terms of team spirit with Gattuso and all the collaborators, in the very short time that I spent with the national team, the main goal was to return Italy to the World Cup.”
He continued: “We did not succeed. It is fair that we leave those who come after us the freedom to choose the person they deem best to carry out my role.”
After the resignation of Gravina and Buffon, the position of Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso is also in question, as his contract expires in June.
Media reports linked Antonio Conte and Massimiliano Allegri as potential alternatives.