Gennaro Gattuso quit as Italy coach on Friday as the Azzurri’s failure to reach a third straight World Cup continued to send shockwaves through Italian football.
A World Cup winner in 2006, Gattuso leaves after less than a year in charge of Italy, a team that has fallen far behind historic rivals like France and Spain in the last two decades.
Defeat on penalties to Bosnia and Herzegovina in Tuesday’s qualification play-off final ended up costing Gattuso his job, as the man who hired him also stepped down as president of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC).
His record is impressive on paper, with six wins, one defeat, and one draw in eight matches with 22 goals scored and 10 conceded.
But that draw was the 1-1 with Bosnia, which preceded a penalty shoot-out in which Italy missed twice, while the loss was another humiliating one to Norway, this time 4-1 at the San Siro.
Gattuso was considered by many a strange choice to replace Spalletti due to his spotty club coaching record, and he was heavily criticized after Tuesday’s elimination.
