Gennaro Gattuso offered a tearful apology after Italy missed out on World Cup qualification on Tuesday night.
After finishing second behind Norway in their World Cup qualifying group, Italy needed to navigate two tricky play-off ties in March in order to secure their place at the tournament this summer.
Italy beat Northern Ireland in their first play-off last Thursday, but their defeat on penalties to Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday evening means the Azzurri will not be playing at the World Cup this summer.
Italy have now become the first winners of the World Cup to miss out on qualifying for three consecutive tournaments. The Azzuri did not qualify for Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022, as well as this year’s competition.
‘There’s too much disappointment after a match like that, there were our mistakes, there were the others’ mistakes. The boys deserved more for their performance, for their commitment, for the love they put in,’ Gattuso said after Italy’s defeat on penalties.
‘I’m proud of my boys. At this moment if someone pricks me with something, nothing comes out, no blood comes out, nothing comes out, it hurts too much.
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‘We needed to go to the World Cup for ourselves, for our family, for all of Italy, for our movement, taking a blow like that is hard to digest.
I’ve been in the world of football for a few years, sometimes I’ve rejoiced, sometimes like today I’ve taken a blow… but this is hard to digest. It’s difficult because the boys have really surprised me, for the heart they put in, for their attachment, we were there in trenches, we knew how to stay there, but we are out of the World Cup.
‘I personally apologise because I didn’t make it, but the lads impressed me.
‘My future? Honestly, talking about my future isn’t important right now. Now the only thing that matters is the bitterness of not going to the World Cup. We’ll take this performance here, it hurts, it hurts… I’m sorry.’
Meanwhile, the president of Italy’s football association, Gabriele Gravina, insisted that Gattuso should not be sacked after the team failed to reach the World Cup.
‘I have to congratulate Rino Gattuso; I think he was a great coach,’ Gravina said.
‘I asked him to stay on as coach of these guys, just as I asked Buffon. There was a moment of harmony in the locker room with the players. The guys were heroic. The technical side must be safeguarded 100 per cent.
‘We know we are in a time of great general crisis, which requires a comprehensive reflection that is not the responsibility of the Federation alone
‘It is the responsibility of Italian politics, which is working hard and accelerating only because of the call for his resignation. However, I would like to ask for just one useful measure, if there was a willingness to support Italian football.’
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