Gennaro Gattuso exits as Italy manager after World Cup qualifying failure

Italy’s chaotic and miserable week on and off the pitch reached a ­predictable conclusion on Friday with the head coach, Gennaro Gattuso, leaving the role after the Azzurri’s failure to reach the World Cup.

Italy were beaten by Bosnia and Herzegovina in their World Cup ­playoff on Tuesday, the home side winning on penalties in Zenica, meaning the four-time winners have now missed out on the finals for three successive editions.

On Thursday, Gabriele Gravina resigned as the country’s football federation president, along with Gianluigi Buffon, the national team delegation head.

Those departures were compounded by a stark warning from the president of Uefa, Aleksander Ceferin, that the country risked losing its co-hosting rights for Euro 2032 due to the condition of stadiums in the country, the infrastructure around which he described as “some of the worst in Europe”.

With the mood one of ­swirling ­crisis, Gattuso’s exit came as ­little surprise. “With a heavy heart, ­having failed to achieve the goal we had set ourselves, I consider my time in charge of the national team to be over,” said the former Milan and Rangers midfielder.

“The Azzurri shirt is the most precious asset in football, which is why it is right to facilitate future technical assessments with immediate effect.

“It has been an honour to lead the national team and to do so with a group of lads who have shown commitment and loyalty to the shirt.”

Gattuso, whose spells as a head coach included stints with Napoli, Fiorentina and Marseille, as well as a return to Milan, had taken over with Italy’s World Cup qualifying campaign already in disarray with a 3-0 defeat against Norway last June spelling the end for Luciano Spalletti.

Gravina described Gattuso as “a symbol of Italian football” on his appointment and although Italy won five qualifiers in a row under his ­leadership they went into their final game against Norway needing a nine-goal winning margin to claim top spot. An Erling Haaland-inspired Norway duly won 4-1 at San Siro.

In the playoffs, Italy were 2-0 ­winners over Northern Ireland and took the lead against Bosnia and ­Herzegovina only to be stymied by Alessandro Bastoni’s red card. The home side equalised and were ­victorious on penalties, sparking a tumultuous week for Italian football.