Ciao, ragazzi! Defending champions Italy are defeated by the Swiss team and are heading home unexpectedly early. The Italian press is furious.
It’s a curse. Defending champion Italy sees no light in the round of 16 match against Switzerland and deservedly goes home. A disappointing performance. The last time the Squadra Azzurra did this badly was 20 years ago, when the team didn’t even make it through the group stage.
Former national coach Fabio Capello delivered a devastating verdict after the game. There was no quality, Fabioli looked like a fish out of water. And he was far from the only one who had bad words to say about the team. The Italian press showed no mercy.
Italy’s World Cup exit: “Worst team in history”
Italy was eliminated from the tournament “in the worst possible way,” wrote the “Gazzetta dello Sport.” Italy lost face, Switzerland dominated the game. “The Azzurri didn’t understand anything,” summed up the paper, which said the team had failed across the board – “from a physical, tactical and psychological point of view.”
According to “Corriere dello Sport”, the Italians lacked something else on the pitch. They showed “neither heart nor legs”. The team played “palely and passively” and deserved to lose against a “mediocre team”.
Switzerland beats defending champion Italy in the round of 16 – the video highlights
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Italy appears “passive and fearful”
It wasn’t just in Italy that people were surprised by Luciano Spalletti’s strategy; Michael Ballack, former captain of the DFB, couldn’t even explain what the plan was. “It was fearful and passive. That was certainly one of the weakest halves in this tournament,” he said during the half-time break on RTL.
According to the “Corriere della Sera”, what the squadra delivered in the Berlin Olympic Stadium was a “serious disgrace”. Tuttosport even wrote of “Italy’s catastrophe”. The team was possibly the worst in history at a major event.
Source: Stern
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
