Gennaro Gattuso has resigned as head coach of the Italy national team after a turbulent tenure that ended with the Azzurri missing out on a spot at the upcoming FIFA World Cup.
The former 2006 World Cup winner left his position on Friday, with Italian football plunged into another major crisis following their latest failure to reach football’s biggest tournament.
The curtain came down on Gattuso’s time in charge after Italy’s dramatic play‑off loss to Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday.
The match, played in Zenica, finished 1‑1 after extra time, but Italy faltered in the penalty shoot‑out, a result that ultimately sealed their fate and kept them out of the World Cup for the third consecutive tournament.
Initially appointed in June last year to succeed Luciano Spalletti, Gattuso’s record seemed solid on paper, six wins, one draw, and one defeat in eight games, with 22 goals scored and 10 conceded.
However, the draw in the Bosnia match that led to the penalties and a heavy 4‑1 defeat to Norway at the San Siro earlier in qualifying were blemishes that defined a campaign filled with missed opportunities.
Gattuso had been encouraged to stay on immediately after the play‑off defeat, with then‑FIGC president Gabriele Gravina publicly saying he wanted him to continue despite elimination.
But the shockwaves from the result soon widened, leading not only to Gattuso’s departure but also to the resignation of Gravina and national team general manager Gianluigi Buffon, marking the end of a significant chapter in Italy’s football leadership.
The decision by Gattuso brings to a close a brief spell in charge that, while statistically respectable, couldn’t halt Italy’s slide down the global football hierarchy, a fall that has seen them lag behind traditional rivals such as France and Spain in recent years.
