{"id":1595,"date":"2016-06-03T09:14:24","date_gmt":"2016-06-03T09:14:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=1595"},"modified":"2016-06-03T09:14:24","modified_gmt":"2016-06-03T09:14:24","slug":"italy-football-forza-azzurri-buffon-chiellini-barzagli-ventura-rossi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=1595","title":{"rendered":"The Slow Death of Italian Football"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

P<\/span>ictures tell stories, and the one with Gigi Buffon crying in the post-match interview is a heartbreaking one. As fate would have it, it was a deflected goal that the Italian goalkeeper could do nothing about, which separated the two teams over 180 minutes of football. Italy created chances, but Buffon\u2019s opposite number Robin Olsen had an outstanding game in the Swedish goal, while a couple of penalty shouts could have gone either way. The San Siro miracle that everyone was waiting for wasn\u2019t to be, as Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1958.\n\nWhile the result on the night might be a surprising one, there is nothing shocking about Italy\u2019s decline in the beautiful game. The writing has been on the wall for a while. The Azzurri, once feared giants of Europe, are no longer favourites to go far in tournaments. The 2006 World Cup win wasn\u2019t predicted by many, as an ageing Italian squad beat the odds. After that night in Berlin, they have failed to go past the group stages in successive World Cups. Expectations have dropped, as even the 2016 Euro quarter-final finish by Conte\u2019s men was seen as a successful campaign. The failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia is perhaps the cruel end to a predictable horror movie.\n<\/p>

As one generation bows out, Italy needs its next generation of wonderkids to step it up.<\/blockquote>\n\u201cLife imitates art more than art imitates life,\u201d said Oscar Wilde. It couldn\u2019t be truer for Italian football, which has seen the nation\u2019s dip on the economic and political front being replicated on the field. As Italy \u00a0found itself in turmoil over the decades, we saw Europe\u2019s former powerhouse falter on the big stage. Players started moving around to more attractive destinations, the crowds started dipping, and corruption and match-fixing allegations caused a massive reputation dent as the once thriving Serie A of the late \u201980s and \u201990s was reduced to a poor man\u2019s alternative to Spain and England.\n\nAs world football pays its tribute to the great Gigi Buffon on calling it a day, the veteran trio of Giorgio Chiellini, Daniele de Rossi, and Andrea Barzagli have also announced retirement. It is rather telling that so many players from Italy\u2019s 2006 World Cup heroics were still in the squad, a decade later. The failure to find able replacements for some of these legends is what hurt Italy hard.\n\nToday, Italy has lost its core, and while it is heart-breaking to see these heroes bow out in this manner, it was perhaps necessary, to rebuild the team. As one generation bows out, Italy needs its next generation of wonderkids to step it up. And the signs as there, as the likes of Gianluigi Donnarumma, Danielle Rugani, Alessio Romagnoli, and Federico Bernardeschi take over the reins. Italian football has fallen. But to quote the great Alfred Pennyworth \u201cWe fall so that we can pick ourselves up.\u201d It would be football\u2019s loss if we don\u2019t see a strong Azzurri team soon, of the likes we saw in the \u201880s; solid at the back and clinical in the final third. Forza Azzurri!\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Italy\u2019s failure to qualify for the World Cup might be heartbreaking, but it\u2019s not shocking. The writing has been on the wall for a while now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":1596,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[394],"tags":[2839,2928,2929,2930,2931,2932,396,2933,2934,2935,2936,2937,2938,2846,2939,555,2940,2941],"class_list":["post-1595","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-ac-milan","tag-azzurri","tag-barzagli","tag-buffon","tag-chiellini","tag-de-rossi","tag-football","tag-forza-azzurri","tag-gigi-buffon","tag-inter-milan","tag-italian-football-team","tag-italy","tag-juve","tag-juventus","tag-pirlo","tag-retirement","tag-san-siro","tag-ventura"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Slow Death of Italian Football<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Italy\u2019s failure to qualify for the World Cup might be heartbreaking, but it\u2019s not shocking. 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