Kolkata: For those old enough to remember (for everyone else, there’s YouTube), Pio Esposito’s missed penalty would have felt similar to Roberto Baggio’s in the final of the 1994 World Cup. Immediately the cameras turned to Gennaro Gattuso catching him standing hands in pocket, head bowed.
A player short after Alessandro Bastoni’s red card in the 41st minute, Italy looked relieved taking the final qualifier against Bosnia and Herzegovina to penalties on Tuesday. They had Gianluigi Donnarumma in goal. His counterpart Nikola Vasilj had made a costly error leading to Moise Kean putting Italy ahead in the 15th minute.
Then Esposito missed and Bryan Cristante’s shot bounced off the underside of the crossbar. Nearly 20 years ago, the framework had similarly come in the way of a David Trezeguet penalty and Gattuso and Italy had won the World Cup. Fine margins then, fine margins now but who in 2006 would have thought that the four-time champions would be the only winners to have not qualified for three successive editions including one expanded to 48 teams?
Esmir Bajraktarevic ensured that after Benjamin Tahirovic, Haris Tabakovic, whose equaliser had dragged the contest beyond regulation time, and Kerim-Sam Alajbegovic – the 18-year-old who wears a No.19 shirt – gave Donnarumma no chance with their penalties. Only Sandro Tonali scored for Italy in the tie-breaker.
Bajraktarevic’s parents escaped a genocide in 1995 by moving to the USA. On Wednesday, he was at Bilino Polje, a small stadium surrounded by tall buildings, in the city of Zenica sending a country born out of conflict to their first World Cup since 2014. Under coach Sergez Barbarez, who once played poker for a living, they managed two comeback wins in in less than a week in matches that went to penalties.
Aberration in 2018, when Sweden kept them from qualifying, apocalypse, in the words of the then Italian federation president, four years later when North Macedonia stunned them and apology now. “I apologise,” Gattuso told Rai TV. “I would have given up years of my life, money, for us to achieve our goal,” BBC quoted the Italy head coach as saying.
The home team could have won in regulation time. Before Bastoni scythed Amar Memic, Bosnia had 11 shots to two by Italy. Before the 79th minute equaliser, they had 21. With 10, Italy sat deep, struggled with crosses and survived through Donnarumma. Till he parried 40-year-old Edin Dzeko’s header for Tabakovic to bundle it in. Then, Bajraktarevic’s penalty squirmed under him. Donnarumma sat on his haunches as a tifo of a visa to the USA appeared on screen.
So, fine margins, yes. Kean’s pace was too much for Tarek Muharemović but, after becoming the first since Salvatore Schillaci in 1990 to score in six successive matches, he blasted over with only Vasilj to beat. The goalie also got a strong left hand to an Esposito header.
Barring the double defeat against Norway, Italy had won all six of their qualifiers and beaten Northern Ireland. Going into the last two matches, Italy had the most shots (140) in the campaign after Portugal and Belgium, as per Opta. Gattuso had Leonardo Bonucci on his staff and Gianluigi Buffon as head of delegation. From this squad Arsenal’s Riccardo Calafiori can win Premier League, Donnarumma a treble with Manchester City and Tonali is said to be worth around €100m. Inter Milan were Champions League finalists twice in the last three seasons. No easy answers therefore.
And yet, missing out on the World Cup has become the norm. North Macedonia were 67th when they stunned Italy, then European champions, in 2022. Bosnia and Herzegovina 66th. Italy’s ranking? Sixth then, 13 now.
Baggio has asked for an overhaul of the youth system telling coaches to focus on technique and not tactics and a network of schools where boys from six to 14 can hone skills. He has also sought scouting to be modernised and called for a countrywide database with centres tracking talent from eight to 21-year-olds and an attacking players’ programme run by former players.
“Today’s results are the consequence of our attitude from 20 years ago, when we clung onto our best players like (Fabio) Cannavaro and (Francesco) Totti, thinking they would last forever,” said Buffon. “Right then we should have been rethinking our tactical and technical models.”
Their stadiums are old and creaking and sometimes that’s where it all starts. Gary Neville spoke about a leaking roof at Old Trafford while pointing to the malaise at Manchester United. Serie A is no longer the league players want to go to.
That said, Italy have changed since poor campaigns in the 2010 and 2014 World Cups. They won the European under-19 title in 2023 and the under-17 title in 2024. A new programme to train youth coaches began last week. It was Cesare Maldini’s three-time European under-21 champions (1992, 1994, 1996) that graduated into world champions in 2006. At this point though even talking of a good future could feel trite.
