Italian Football Federation President โคdefends Position, Questions Impactโค of Leadership Change
ROME – Italian Football Federation (FIGC) President Gabriele โGravina has staunchly defended his leadership, suggesting a change at the helm wouldn’t guarantee success for the national team.Speaking publicly,Gravina provocatively questioned whether โคItaly’sโ fortunes woudl automatically reverse with his departure,stating,”If I wentโ away,would football start againโ and Italy would win the World Cup? โฃIf that were the case I would step aside,but it’s not.”
Gravina addressed concerns about potential repercussions following โa โขnegative performance in upcoming Playoffs, referencing the past treatmentโข of previous presidents โand national team figures. He distinguished his situation from those of predecessors Giorgio Abete, who resigned forโค personal reasons, and Giancarlo โTavecchio, who gravina said was “disheartened and betrayed.” He emphasized the democratic principles underpinning the FIGC โstructure, arguing that automatically linking presidential responsibility to on-field resultsโ wouldโฃ be a mistake. “I don’t go on the field, but I defend my choices,” he stated, adding, “What happensโ if I leave? Italy winsโข the World Cup andโค the problems disappear? In 1994 they wanted to lynchโ the playersโ after a lost final, do โyou remember that?” He further questioned whether accountability shouldโข beโค tied to resultsโ or to ongoing reforms.
The president also clarifiedโค his interactions with current and former national team managers, Roberto Mancini and Luciano Spalletti. He โฃconfirmedโ speaking with Mancini, who expressed willingness to returnโ to the โฃrole. Gravina refutedโค claims he avoided Spalletti’s farewell press conference, stating heโ was present atโค a concurrent UEFA conferenceโฃ andโ had planned to jointly โannounce theโข resolution with Spalletti. However, he described Spalletti’s unexpected outburst during the press conference โas “the reaction of a true Italian,” explainingโ the manager “collapsed at the first question” and โ”didn’t hold โback his โexplosion of anger.”
Gravina’s commentsโ come โคamid ongoing scrutiny of the Italian national โteam’s performance and the broader state of Italian football.
