Italy's crisis deepens: Buffon joins the wave of resignations | OneFootball

The Azzurra missed out on another World Cup, and an institutional crisis erupted: Gravina and Buffon resigned after the defeat to Bosnia.

The earthquake in Italian football is already having major consequences. After Italy’s elimination in the World Cup playoff, Gabriele Gravina stepped down as president of the Italian Football Federation. He was also followed out by Gianluigi Buffon, who had been serving as the national team’s head of delegation.

The decision comes after the tough defeat against Bosnia and Herzegovina, which left the Azzurra out of the World Cup for the third straight time. The blow was even harder considering that the next tournament will feature 48 teams, making qualification more accessible. Even so, the team failed again at the key moment, sparking deep unrest across the country.

Gravina announced his resignation at a meeting held at the federation’s headquarters in Rome, where he confirmed he was stepping aside after the pressure created by the latest sporting failure. His tenure, which began in 2018, was defined by this negative cycle for the national team, which has been unable to recover since missing Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022.

Minutes later, Buffon’s departure was also confirmed. The 2006 World Cup winner had taken on his executive role in August 2023. The exit of the legendary former goalkeeper further deepens the institutional crisis Italian football is going through.

In this context, the departure of head coach Gennaro Gattuso is also expected, which would completely dismantle the current structure of the national team. Now, all eyes are on June 22, the date on which elections will be held to choose the federation’s new president and begin an urgent restructuring

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.