ROME (AP) – Italy will never get a chance to make up for Roberto Baggio’s failure in the 1994 World Cup final at the Rose Bowl.
4 time champion I won’t even be returning to North America for this year’s tournament. They lost to 66th place Bosnia and Herzegovina in a penalty shootout. in the qualifying playoffs.
Italy was eliminated at the same stage, missing out on their third consecutive World Cup appearance. Sweden Ahead of and leading up to the 2018 World Cup north macedonia In 2022.
Here are five reasons why the Azzurri continue to struggle.
Del Piero and Totti are long gone.
While Italy’s title-winning squad in 2006 included outstanding players such as Alessandro Del Piero, Francesco Totti and Andrea Pirlo, Italy has not had such talented players for years.
The most expensive player in the current team is a midfielder. Sandro TonaliHe was acquired by Newcastle in 2023 for approximately 80 million euros ($93 million).
The only other world-class player is Manchester City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
The starting strikers are Mateo Letegui from Argentina and Moise Kean from Fiorentina.
Serie A has become a retirement destination.
In the 1980s and 1990s, when the likes of Diego Maradona, Marco van Basten and Ruud Gullit were playing at the peak of their careers, the Italian league was considered the best in the world. This is where Kaka won the Ballon d’Or award with AC Milan in 2007, becoming the last Italian-based player to receive this honour.
Recently, the aging of the population, such as those aged 40, has become noticeable. Luka Modric (In Milan) 39 years old jamie vardy (The Cremonese) comes to Serie A to finish his career.
Therefore, without international stars, the level of the league declines, which also affects the national team.
Juventus, once the backbone of the Italian national team, has not won Serie A since 2020. And there were no Milan players on the playoff team.
Tennis taken over by Jannik Sinner
inspired by Yanik Sinners Achievements, popularization of tennis Soccer’s status as the most popular sport in Italy. Many children are drawn to tennis instead of the traditional pastime of kicking a soccer ball on the street.
According to Nielsen Fan Insights, in 2025, 21.6 million Italians said they were soccer fans, and 19.9 million said they watched tennis and padel.
Italy has also enjoyed success in F1, with 19-year-old Kimi Antonelli winning the last two races.
And the host nation is delivering a record performance. Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
“Things go through cycles,” Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso said last week. “When I see us winning in other sports, it motivates me. It makes me feel proud. … Our history right now tells us that we’re struggling.”
No singing or cheering
Outside of the final stages of major tournaments, the Italian national team attracts little attention domestically and has no organized fans.
All professional clubs in Italy have organized fan bases, or “ultras”, who support the team with chants and scarves, but the Azzurri lack sustained support through songs and cheers.
Gattuso preferred to play in Bergamo’s 23,500-seat stadium in last week’s play-off semi-final rather than the much larger San Siro after noticing that Milan and Inter fans whistled at players from the other clubs during the defeat to Norway in Milan in November.
“The first missed pass, you start hearing the whistle,” Gattuso said.
Stadiums in Milan and Rome still in the planning stages
Italy also lags far behind other European leagues in terms of building new soccer stadiums.
Milan and Inter only recently purchased San Siro The goal is to demolish the stadium and build a new one in time for the 2032 European Championship, which Italy will co-host with Turkey.
Meanwhile, Roma are in the final stages of obtaining the necessary permits to build their own arena, after more than a decade of delays, in preparation for the move from the Stadio Olimpico.
Juventus are currently the only major Italian club to own and operate a modern stadium.
A lack of club-owned stadiums means teams are unable to earn enough income to compete with richer overseas rivals, weighing on Serie A and affecting the national team as well.
___
AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
