Gattuso Reflects on Italy's World Cup Failure After Lazio Victory

Gennaro Gattuso does not hide from his scars. He wears them.

Standing in Bologna after his new Lazio side ground out a 1-0 win to open their Serie A campaign, the former Italy boss spoke less like a victorious club coach and more like a man still haunted by a night in March.

Failing to take Italy to the 2026 World Cup, he admitted, has marked him for life.

“I had 10 wonderful months,” Gattuso said, reflecting on his brief spell in charge of the Azzurri. “The lads I coached gave me their all. And it's a wound that will remain for as long as I live, because it was a deep wound.”

That wound was opened by Bosnia-Herzegovina, whose playoff win ended Italy’s hopes of reaching the tournament and condemned the four-time world champions to a third straight absence from the men’s World Cup. Within days, Gattuso walked away. He resigned in April, knowing the failure would follow him wherever he went next.

A painful chapter, a clean break

Gattuso’s Italy tenure was short, intense, and ultimately brutal in its ending. There was no slow decline, no gradual erosion of faith. Just a playoff defeat, a nation stunned, and a coach who felt the responsibility land squarely on his shoulders.

He chose not to cling on. The federation, faced with another reset, went back to a familiar face.

In July, the FIGC turned again to Roberto Mancini, the man who had already lived both extremes of the job: the euphoria of Euro 2020 and the crushing disappointment of missing the 2022 World Cup. Now he returns with the task of repairing the damage once more.

Gattuso, far from bitter, threw his full weight behind the decision.

“I'd say he is a great coach with a wealth of experience,” he said. “He's a great manager; he's someone who has already won with the national team, and I obviously wish him all the best from the bottom of my heart.”

A bench that many wanted – and few could take

Mancini’s return was not the federation’s first idea.

After Gattuso’s exit, Italy cast the net wide. Andrea Pirlo quickly emerged as the leading candidate, especially after high-profile moves for Carlo Ancelotti and Pep Guardiola were rejected. For a moment, it looked as though another of Gattuso’s 2006 World Cup teammates would inherit the job.

But the Pirlo plan collapsed. Complications around an existing sponsorship deal with a betting company derailed the talks and forced the FIGC back to the drawing board.

Lega Serie A president Ezio Maria Simonelli later revealed that the league had its own preference: Antonio Conte. A second spell for the fiery former Juventus and Chelsea boss appealed strongly to Serie A’s powerbrokers, who saw in Conte a guarantee of intensity and discipline.

The federation chose a different path. Mancini, already battle-tested in the role, got the call.

Gattuso moves on, Italy looks up

While the debate around the national team swirled, Gattuso did what he has always done: he went back to work.

In June, he signed on with Lazio, throwing himself into club football again and leaving the Azzurri’s future to others. The win at Bologna suggested a man capable of compartmentalising, but his words showed the international failure still sits close to the surface.

Italian football, though, cannot linger. It has no choice but to move forward.

Simonelli has urged the entire game – clubs, fans, institutions – to rally behind Mancini as the new-old coach starts his second reign. The next test is already on the calendar: a UEFA Nations League clash with Belgium on 25 September.

There, under the lights and the scrutiny, Mancini will begin the long climb to restore a bruised footballing giant. The task is clear: rebuild pride, rebuild belief, and drag Italy back to the top of the international game.

Gattuso’s scar will not fade. Mancini’s job is to make sure it does not define a generation.