Italy coach Gian Piero Ventura was fired Wednesday, two days after the Azzurri¡¯s failure to qualify for the World Cup.
Meanwhile, the refusal of Italian Football Federation president Carlo Tavecchio to resign was met with protest at a summit called to assess the failure.
Ventura leaves in disgrace, widely criticized for his tactical decisions that left Italy out of football¡¯s biggest competition for the first time in six decades.
A football federation statement said that Ventura is ¡°no longer coach of the national team.¡±
Four-time champion Italy lost a playoff to Sweden, 1-0 on aggregate, on Monday.
Ventura¡¯s contract was recently extended to 2020 but the deal included a stipulation that it could be voided in case of a failed qualification.
Carlo Ancelotti, who was fired by Bayern Munich in September, was being mentioned by Italian media as a likely replacement but no new coach was immediately named.
¡°Ancelotti is definitely a great coach and a great person. He would be a great choice,¡± said Italian coaches association president Renzo Ulivieri, who participated in the summit. ¡°But other considerations need to be made. We need to talk with him and look around. It¡¯s early to talk about coaches.¡±
Damiano Tommasi, president of the Italian players association, abandoned the meeting once he understood that Tavecchio would not step down.
¡°We believe we¡¯ve got to start the rebuilding process with elections,¡± Tommasi said. ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like there¡¯s any desire to restart from zero.
¡°The problems of Italian football can¡¯t be resolved with just the firing of the national team coach,¡± added Tommasi, who played for Italy and helped Roma win the 2001 Serie A title. ¡°Otherwise we¡¯ll continue to re-mix the same minestrone that has caused indigestion for so many of us.¡±
Ventura was hired last year when Antonio Conte left the national team to coach Chelsea after the European Championship.
The 69-year-old Ventura was a journeyman coach who had never managed a major club.
He previously coached Udinese, Cagliari, Napoli, Messina, Hellas Verona, Pisa, Bari and Torino.
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