Italian Football Association President + Buffon resigns! Italian football: Has it been dismantled, can it be rebuilt?

Written by Han Bing Missing the World Cup three consecutive times has finally forced the most drastic upheaval in Italian football. On April 2, under immense public pressure, Italian Football Association President Gravina and team manager Buffon announced their resignations successively. Multiple Italian media outlets reported that the departure of Italy's head coach Gattuso is also imminent, and discussions about the new coach for the Azzurri have begun widely. Within a single day, the core figures of the Italian Football Association's management collectively "stepped down." However, whether Italian football, which has already been "dismantled," can initiate a "rebuilding" process after the new management takes over remains an unknown.

On April 2, the Italian Football Association convened a crisis meeting at its Rome headquarters with the presidents of Serie A, Serie B, Serie C, amateur leagues, as well as representatives from player and coach associations. Italian media initially believed that the deeply entrenched President Gravina would not resign over the failure, but the public pressure from missing three consecutive World Cups proved beyond expectations. At 15:00 Italian time, the Italian Football Association officially announced Gravina's resignation. Simultaneously, it announced a special election congress on June 22 to elect a new president. One hour after Gravina's official resignation announcement, Italy's team manager Buffon also announced his resignation on social media.

72-year-old Gravina assumed the position of Italian Football Association President in October 2018; his predecessor, Tavecchio, resigned due to Italy's failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. Gravina gained fame in Italian football for steering the Castel di Sangro club (1984-2000) in the late 1990s, leading this small-town club through six promotions to Serie B within 13 years. In the early 2000s, he served as head of delegation for Italy's U21 national team, participating in three U21 European Championships and two Summer Olympics. As president, he proposed a series of reforms, including building modern stadiums, mandatory weekly football courses in schools, establishing reserve teams for all clubs, and forming a "world champion" team to manage the national team, but all these reform measures ultimately stalled.

The "Gazzetta dello Sport" revealed that Gravina, besides reporting to the Italian Chamber of Deputies, will continue lobbying the government for more support to save Italian football before the new president takes office. Examples include tax breaks for companies investing in youth training, infrastructure, and women's football, laws aimed at preventing the outflow of Italian football talent, and allocating 1% of gambling revenue to youth training. However, these agendas existed during his tenure and were not fully advanced; now that he has stepped down, his high-profile announcements to follow up are more a gesture to salvage his reputation. Although Italy won the 2021 European Championship under his tenure and secured the opportunity to co-host the 2032 European Cup with Turkey, the critical pre-existing issues of insufficient youth training, outdated stadiums, and World Cup qualification failures saw no change.

Buffon's resignation was expected, as he stated in his social media declaration: he submitted his resignation the first minute after Italy's elimination. Since assuming the role of Italy's team manager in August 2023, Buffon's fate has been deeply tied to the Azzurri's results. Moreover, after Spalletti's departure last June, he strongly supported Gattuso's appointment before Mancini and Gattuso. Now, after the defeat in Zenica, this Italian legendary goalkeeper, like his predecessor Vialli, chose to resign to take responsibility. Milan legend Maldini has already been called by the Italian Football Association and is likely to become the new team manager.

Compared to the Football Association President and national team manager, people are more concerned about head coach Gattuso's fate. Although he hasn't made a decision yet, Italian media widely believe his departure is only a matter of time. Gattuso's contract expires at the end of June, but his departure could happen within days, or even after the June international friendly matches, aiming to give the Italian Football Association sufficient time to select a coach. Mancini and Conte remain the top candidates, but both are currently coaching clubs. Compared to Mancini, who recently signed with Qatar's Al Sadd, Conte, who is discontent with Napoli owner De Laurentiis, is more likely. He could terminate his contract with Napoli at the end of this season, then lead the team in June friendlies, preparing for the Nations League starting in September and the next World Cup cycle.

Additionally, Italian media mentioned Allegri from Milan and Gasperini from Roma, but their clubs would not release them. Even the "World Cup champion" coaching team proposed during Buffon's time is still under discussion. At this moment of comprehensive "break and rebuild" for Italian football, some have even mentioned Guardiola, who is highly likely to leave Manchester City this summer. Like Ancelotti coaching Brazil, Italy also needs a top foreign coach to drive a full reconstruction. But the question is: Is it possible?