Gennaro Gattuso resigned as Italy head coach on 3 April, one day after Gravina and Buffon departed . "With a heavy heart, having failed to achieve the goal we set ourselves, I consider my time as coach of the national team to be over," he said. 1 His tenure lasted nine months, during which he managed fewer than 15 training sessions with the full squad.
That figure is the structural indictment. Gattuso is not the first Italy coach to fail under these conditions; he is the third consecutive one to be destroyed by them. The FIGC's calendar gives the national team so little collective preparation that no coaching appointment can overcome the deficit. Italy's elimination by Bosnia confirmed the pattern, not the individual.
Silvio Baldini, the current U-21 coach, is expected to take interim charge for June friendlies against Luxembourg and Greece. No permanent appointment can be made before the 22 June FIGC presidential election. 2 Alessandro Del Piero has publicly backed Antonio Conte for the permanent role; Pep Guardiola remains a media favourite, though no foreign coach has managed Italy in 126 years. 3
