Italy’s Shameful Defeat to Norway Calls for Drastic Changes | OneFootball

The bad omens materialized, and it went even worse than expected. As Italy approached their opening World Cup qualifier against Norway, the atmosphere in the Azzurri camp was tense. You looked in our players’ eyes, and you sensed it.

“Who will stop Haaland?”

“How can we cope with so many injuries?”

“What happens if we lose?”

And, if a team like Italy approach such a game with fear and tension, without even being able to fall back on their pride, without even being able to say “screw it, we are going to win it just because we are Italy”, that already tells a great deal about what we have become.

The pitch doesn’t lie and, inevitably, confirmed all those ominous presages. The Azzurri were literally swept away in the space of 45 minutes, collecting a 0-3 loss that will go straight into Italy’s hall of shame, a collection of absurd losses that has grown larger and larger in the past few years. It is painful even to write about it.

Last night’s rout pretty much means that Italy will once again need to go through the playoff ordeal in hopes of grabbing a World Cup spot. It is just not realistic, as things stand, to think that they will bounce back and overtake the Norwegians in the Qualifiers Group I standings.

It will be playoffs again, with a real risk of missing the World Cup for the third time in a row. A very real risk.

And, if two coincidences make a clue, then even the shadow of a third constitutes proof of an evident, painful truth that the Italian Football Association (FIGC) brass is stubbornly refusing to face and act upon:

Italy are, slowly but surely, declining from their status as a top power in the world of football. Simply put, we are no longer producing football talents – let alone men.

Our pool of talents is barely above average. Italy have lacked a true fuoriclasse for ages. The problem is deeply rooted, it starts with the way we teach our kids to play the game, focusing on the tactics before they’ve even mastered basic technique. Creativity is no longer sought for. When was the last time you saw an Italian player take on their marker one-on-one?

Moreover, we are not teaching these young kids to become men. To fight for what matters. To put their pride on the line. To be mad when they lose, and to react when a team that’s 28 places behind you in the FIFA ranking is humiliating you, scoring three in just 45 minutes.

Then, when these soft, inadequate young men finally make it to first teams, they get little playing time. It is difficult even to put together a proper starting eleven, we’ll at least grant Luciano Spalletti that, even though the coach (more on him in a moment) is surely among those to blame for last night.

If you look at Italy’s front-line against Norway, Giacomo Raspadori is not even a starter at Napoli and scored six goals in the season. SIX goals. Mateo Retegui, who partnered with him, was not even born in Italy. Roberto Mancini had to scout him somewhere in the Argentinian Primera Division to compensate for the lack of attacking options the Serie A offers.

Where are our talents? Federico Chiesa was once considered among the most promising only a few seasons ago. After going through a worrying tactical regression at Juventus, he somehow won a ride at Liverpool in the Premier League. The impact with the EPL was brutal, he collected only six league caps in the whole season…

And, what about the future? Young sensation striker Francesco Camarda came under the spotlight at just 15 as he became the youngest player to ever debut in Serie A. He spent the past season yo-yoing between the Milan first team bench and Milan Futuro in the third division – where he did not exactly score loads of goals either – leaving us all wondering whether the poor kid is overhyped or is simply being misused.

These are just a few examples. It’s time to look in the mirror and face the fact that, somehow along the way, we have stopped producing and nurturing real talent.

Still, there was a time when Italy managed to get the best out of what they had and rise to the occasion. The mind goes back to a few years ago, when a hardly talented Nazionale delivered commendable performances at Euro 2016 under Antonio Conte’s guidance.

That time is gone too. Here, the main culprit can only be Luciano Spalletti. The Azzurri’s indolence, their absolute lack of reaction calls for drastic action. Is he really the right man to lift Italy from this quagmire?

Spalletti was called to Italy’s deathbed after Roberto Mancini’s abrupt exit and, despite a miserable Euro 2024 campaign, could still be allowed some time to reshape the Nazionale in his form. But time is merciless, and the scenario is now clear.

Apart from one night at the Parc des Princes, Spalletti’s tenure has been dismal. Italy lost the top spot in a Nations League group that they were dominating. Then, they were outclassed by Germany in the Quarter Finals.

Last night’s one was a kind of epochal match, one that could define an age.

His Azzurri failed the test in any possible way. They showed mental weakness, an inability to react which were already evident during the Euro 2024. From that perspective, nothing has changed in one year.

For some reason, Spalletti has not managed to communicate his footballing idea. The players don’t seem to follow him, perhaps they don’t understand him. The two just don’t connect.

On top of that, the coach has done little to resonate with the Italian audience. Every time he talks to the press, he comes across as touchy, snobbish.  After last night’s disaster, the first thing he should have done was simply and plainly apologize to all Italians. Gigio Donnarumma, perhaps the only glimpse of a top-class player we have, did just that.

Instead, in his post-match remarks, Spalletti launched in a convoluted, unnecessary technical analysis. That wasn’t the time for it. What Italians needed to hear was: “Tonight we really sucked and I’m furious about it. Now we’re going to look at each other in the eyes and come up with a plan because, I’m telling you, we are Italy and we simply cannot afford to show up like this.”

This is not a time for rash decisions, there is a new game to be played on Monday. (whoa, we must beat Moldova to keep hoping to get second place in the group, will we manage to do it?)  After that, the FIGC should take some time to reflect if Spalletti is really the right man to continue leading a Nazionale in pieces.

Perhaps a rough and tough coach, one that can really speak to the players’ gut could help. A name like Daniele De Rossi, if possible, comes to mind. Or perhaps, we need to show the same humility that Brazil did, accepting the idea of hiring a foreign coach, someone with a fresh footballing perspective, who can restart things from scratch and hopefully bond with the players in a different way.

One final note. The Italian football movement is far from the level expressed by the likes of Spain, Germany, France, or England. Things can be turned around, but it’s not going to happen overnight.

Back in the mid-90s, Italian tennis barely had a couple players in the ATP Top 100. That was thirty years ago. We now have the number one player, nine players in the top 100, and back-to-back Davis Cup victories. Today, Italian tennis is a model to follow. It took thirty years – but we got there.

So, yes, things can be turned around. But, make no mistake: It’s going to take a long time.