Gravina against all, barbs at players: "You do not allow yourselves"

The now former FIGC president Gabriele Gravina has returned to his resignation following the resounding fiasco of the Italian national team, without a World Cup for the third consecutive edition. In an interview with Corriere della Sera, Gravina removes several pebbles from his shoes: “I had thought about stepping aside even before the playoffs because of the constraints, ties and impediments that hold back the growth and development of the movement. In the end, I decided to stay and accepted this way of the cross.”

“What could I have done better? Maybe I should have been better as a soccer player,” he said testily and sarcastically. “I missed two penalties against Switzerland and three goals with Bosnia, and afterwards, from the penalty spot, I shot one high and another over the crossbar. Maybe I should have trained more…”.

Then he fired back at the soccer system that needs to be remade: “Let’s be clear: in Italy only the fans give a damn about the national team. The others, including politics, only need it to claim, when things go wrong, personal forms of positioning. Now I live almost as a recluse between home and the Federation. I have accepted criticism in silence and even insults. But don’t allow yourselves to call me unworthy.”

Gravina, on the other hand, shows regret for his words about other sports, referred to as “amateurs”: “I wanted to emphasize that professionalism must be subject to national and international regulations. It certainly was not my intention to question, nor to debase, the commitment and professionalism of athletes from other disciplines.”

Much praise for former technical commissioner Gennaro Gattuso, who also resigned after the Azzurri’s flop in Bosnia: “A prepared coach and a wonderful person. Despite the few training sessions available, he managed to give a soul to the team. It was not enough and the first one to be sorry was him.”