The European champions land hard (nd currently)

Italy is embarrassing itself again. Four months after the intoxication from London’s Wembley Stadium, the country of the European champions is in the worst hangover mood. Because on Monday evening the footballers of the Squadra Azzurra in Windsor Park in Belfast gambled away the direct qualification for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Due to the tough zero number in the strong Northern Irish, the Italians slipped to second place in qualifying group C on the last day of the game. The Swiss, who managed to outstrip the European champions with a 4-0 home game against Bulgaria, bought the direct ticket into the desert.

For the Italians, the path to Qatar now leads through the playoffs. But they know from their own experience that this is a difficult one. Four years ago they met Sweden in two qualifying games – and missed the 2018 World Cup in Russia. The Swedes are now threatening again as opponents. At the moment there is an almost forgotten disgrace again. In 1958, Belfast’s Windsor Park was the burial place of Italian football hopes. At that time the Squadra Azzurra lost 2-1 to Northern Ireland. The Northern Irish won the qualifying group and went to the finals in, of course, Sweden.

Those who tend to be superstitious can now see bleeding balls in the sky. Roberto Mancini is not ready yet. He pursues the principle of hope. “We’ll make it to Qatar via the playoffs for the World Cup. And then we might even win it, “said the national coach, defiantly and cockily, while still in Belfast. One could benevolently describe it as the optimism worthy of a European champion.

But what went wrong? For winger Domenico Berardi, luck was lacking above all. “Football is like this: sometimes you have luck on your side, sometimes not,” he said with a penchant for philosophy. Berardi is likely to have had the two missed penalties in the two games against Switzerland in mind. If Jorginho had hit the spot, after winning the European Championship and winning the Champions League with Chelsea, the way to the World Cup would have been paved. But the Italian-Brazilian made a mistake. This also reduced his chances of being recognized as a world footballer. If he had scored and brought Italy to the World Cup, he would be a very hot candidate. Football is like that too.

“I think Jorginho must get the Ballon d’Or. Anything else would be a surprise, «said Mancini before the decisive qualifying matches against Switzerland and Northern Ireland. He also held onto Jorginho as a penalty taker. In retrospect, a mistake. He wanted too much for his player. And this one could not withstand the double pressure of personal and collective goals.

Another factor was the long list of failures. Paris St. Germain playmaker Marco Verratti was unavailable in November. Ciro Immobile, currently top scorer in Serie A, and Haudegen Giorgio Chiellini had to leave injured. Other players like defender Leonardo Bonucci or midfield strategist Nicolo Barella went into the decisive battle battered.

The biggest shortcoming was named by Bonucci. “We have to find the spirit of the euro, our recklessness and the bite,” he said. That was exactly what was lacking in the months after winning the title. The European champions looked complacent. They had achieved something too. Three years after the all-time low, missing the World Cup in Russia, they weren’t just the best on the continent. They had won the hearts of fans of other nations with their refreshing attack football. In addition, they put down the record series of 37 games without defeat. Italy had risen as a football power.

But the success had left the players fed up. You know the consequences. Things that just succeed because they were carried out with the greatest determination, fail with more casual effort. Mancini, himself a national player for many years and national coach since 2018, is naturally familiar with such processes. He must also have admonished inwardly. But he apparently found no access to the minds of his players. They looked dull, drained, slow. “We were like a boil,” said Italy’s former national coach Arrigo Sacchi, describing the problem.

Mancini also has to be reproached for not having stimulated his EM heroes early enough by drawing on fresher and more powerful forces. He brought the new playmaker Sandro Tonali from AC Milan back to the national team. And he also called center forward Gianluca Scamacca and Giacomo Raspadori from the Sassuolo training club. But then he did not allow them enough playing time. Mancini must continue the upheaval. Above all, it must reawaken the spirit of the euro. A sign of the great despair Italy is currently in is the fact that occasionally there are even repeated calls for Mario Balotelli. The former enfant terrible is currently playing in the Turkish league.