Leaning against a wall near a news-stand in central Rome, Tommaso Silvestri, 65, scans the morning's front pages, their headlines swinging between apocalypse, scandal and disaster after Italy's latest footballing collapse.
We've made a real mess of it, he says, shaking his head. We had players who couldn't even find the target. The golden days of Italian football are well and truly gone.
On Tuesday night in Zenica, four-time World Cup winners Italy failed to qualify for the tournament for a third consecutive time, losing 4-1 on penalties to Bosnia and Herzegovina after being reduced to 10 men before halftime. Since winning the World Cup in 2006, the Azzurri have largely disappointed in international tournaments - with the exception of their surprise victory at the Euros in 2021.
We are what our results say we are, Silvestri said. When you shoot and can't even hit the goal, you're not going to go far. When it comes to taking the game home, Italy just doesn't get there anymore.
Last night's defeat drew swift and emotional reactions across Italian politics and society. Everything has a limit, lamented Ignazio La Russa, president of the Senate and a senior figure in Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's far-right Brothers of Italy party. In a post on X, he wrote: We're not going to the World Cup. We supported them, we hoped, we even railed against a couple of questionable refereeing decisions... but deep down we feared it. In fact, we knew it.
Gomorrah author and anti-mafia writer Roberto Saviano pointed to deeper structural failures in Italian football, highlighting corruption within clubs and neglect of youth development. He lamented, Clubs are corrupt and at the mercy of criminal organisations. True laundering vaults. No investment in young players, no care for second-generation talent. It's easier to buy foreign players than to develop new athletes.
Across Italy, a legendary football nation with a rich history of producing world-class talent, many are wondering what went wrong. Giovanni Colli, 71, expressed feelings of betrayal at a café near the Pantheon, saying, Not going to the World Cup three times in a row, how on earth did it happen? What a huge disappointment. Everyone should resign. Give the young players a chance.
Italy's World Cup heartbreak was crystallised in the tear-streaked face of coach Rino Gattuso, who struggled to hold back his emotions after the national team's defeat. We don't deserve this, it's not fair. I'm sorry I couldn't make it happen, Gattuso said, eyes glistening, before retreating to the dressing room.
Despite the disappointment, Gattuso expressed pride in his players: I'm proud of my boys and what they gave on the pitch. The defeat, decided on penalties after Italy were reduced to 10 men, gave a brief moment of hope to Italians with Moise Kean's goal, but ultimately ended in dismay.
Italian sports journalist Elisabetta Esposito indicated that the national team is facing a difficult period, where loyalty to clubs is overshadowing national pride. The risk is that this third consecutive failure will deepen young people's disengagement from the Azzurri, she cautioned.
Reflecting on the aftermath and challenges ahead, she added: From a technical standpoint, everything went wrong. The team hasn't worked together enough. Rebuilding will require a long-term strategy. Chasing immediate wins with rushed decisions won't succeed.
As Italians absorb the shock of this failure, many are left contemplating the future of their beloved national team and the cultural significance of the sport within their society.