Gattuso: ‘Italy collapse is worrying, I preferred a football lesson to this’

Gennaro Gattuso ‘would’ve preferred a football lesson from start to finish’ from Norway rather than Italy visibly crumbling. ‘It’s worrying, I would be a hypocrite to suggest otherwise.’

The Azzurri knew full well going in that first place was improbable, as it would’ve required a 9-0 result to overturn the huge goal difference advantage amassed by the Norwegians in Group I.

Nonetheless, they had hoped to take revenge for the 3-0 loss in June and go into the play-offs with confidence on a winning streak.

This is why throwing away the Francesco Pio Esposito opener to lose 4-1 at San Siro was particularly galling, the first defeat of Gattuso’s Italy career.

When he stepped into his press conference, the first question was how come Norway were moving at twice the speed in the second half?

“I don’t think it was a physical issue, as after the break within 30 seconds we let them have a chance, then backed off and they started to take control,” replied the coach.

“Then you start running in a different way, we played to their strengths and they hurt us. It was not a fitness problem.”

Perhaps falling apart mentally after such a strong first half is even more worrying.

“Even playing out from the back, it was completely different. Davide Frattesi wasn’t going wide anymore. We stopped doing the right movements. That is the greatest regret.

“We apologise to the fans and take responsibility. This was a very important match for me today, we were up against a strong team and winning could’ve boosted our mentality to take that next step. We failed. We cannot fall apart and get embarrassed the way we did today at the first sign of difficulty.”

Gattuso admits this fragility is something to be really concerned about going forward, as Italy risk missing out on a third consecutive World Cup.

“It’s worrying, I would be a hypocrite to suggest otherwise. Now we won’t see each other again for three months, not that it takes much to see we were taught a lesson today.

“A game like this cannot be lost 4-1, there are players against us who can turn it around in five minutes. The third goal is the one that annoys me the most, but we have to look forward. We cannot expect to allow zero shots on target, but we must be able to react when they do, not the way we did today.”

There had been some suggestions of a ‘stage’ at the Coverciano training ground in February, so Gattuso can have some time with the players before the play-off in March.

“This is the fixture list, we all know the only dates available are February 2-3 or 9-10, but in my view, we’re not getting those either.”

Gattuso had angrily reacted to the jeers during the final stages of Thursday’s 2-0 win in Moldova, as they took until the 88th minute to break through.

However, he holds his hands up and admits the crowd was right to boo them off the pitch tonight.

“At the end of the first half, I was very satisfied with how the team was set out, with how the fans were supporting us. There is the awareness that people love this team, but talk isn’t enough anymore.

“It was an evening that nobody deserved, especially those who came out here to cheer us on. We hope to give all our fans joy.”

Considering the 3-0 defeat in Oslo evidently wasn’t a fluke, nor entirely at the blame of Luciano Spalletti, what must Italy do going forward?

“We mustn’t get so scared and hold back, as at the first setback we lose confidence,” replied Gattuso.

“At this moment, we’ve got so much weighing on us, we didn’t qualify for the last two editions of the World Cup, and we cannot underestimate that.

“At the same time, we also cannot get so downhearted at the first sign of trouble. We must have more confidence in our capabilities and not limit ourselves to doing the bare minimum when it starts to go wrong.”

Should Italy just admit they are no longer among the best teams in Europe, especially after doing so badly at EURO 2024?

“I honestly would’ve preferred it if Norway had taught us a football lesson from start to finish, I might’ve been able to accept it better,” replied Gattuso.

“This is why I continue to believe that if we improve that was missing in that second half, we can have our say. That is the painful regret of it all.”

Is there a lack of leadership in the current Azzurri set-up?

“Having a leader isn’t enough, at these moments we need to stay united. What angers me the most is that in the second half, building out from the back was no longer fluid, you could already sense from kick-off in that half that something had changed.

“If you are scared of making a mistake, you play with the handbrake on, and we cannot afford that.”

Gattuso was asked at the end of the press conference whether Federico Chiesa will return for the play-offs in March, as the Liverpool winger had turned down previous call-ups to focus on his fitness.