Italy's media lambasted the country's soccer squad over their elimination from Euro 2024 at the hands of Switzerland on Saturday, while manager Luciano Spalletti threw out a host of bizarre excuses for his side's downfall.
Switzerland had little trouble in dismissing the defending champions 2-0 in Berlin, a last-16 exit seen as embarrassing in the Italian press on Sunday.
"A Shame" read the headline in Corriere dello Sport, as they described a side incapable of football, while Gazzetta dello Sport said "everything to be redone" depicting an embarrassing performance with Italy eliminated and humiliated.
Spalletti said he bore responsibility for their demise, but while he may have some justification in saying he hasn't had enough time with the team, some of his other excuses were harder to understand.
Speaking on Italian television, Spalletti again mentioned his players' physical condition and tiredness, while the Swiss made only one change compared with his six from the previous game.
Even more confusing was his mention of the heat as a factor. When he reiterated his point about a lack of freshness, former England manager Fabio Capello had a sharp response live on air.
"Why can't we play at the pace of the others and when we have the ball we lose it immediately?" Capello queried, adding "Is it a lack of speed, the ball always travels slowly, or is it a matter of technique? We lost to Switzerland, not Brazil."
Perhaps Spalletti's most bizarre excuse was his claim that Inter Milan, who supplied five members of the squad, won the Serie A title too early last season.
"Simone Inzaghi kept training the team in a certain way, because I was in touch with how often Inter were training and so on," he said. "But perhaps ... unconsciously you're not as applied once you've won the league so early."
Italy confirm Spalletti as manager despite Euros exit
Italy will keep Luciano Spalletti as manager until 2026 as planned despite their Euro 2024 campaigning ending in the last 16, Italian Football Federation President Gabriele Gravina said on Sunday.
Spalletti's side were beaten 2-0 by Switzerland on Saturday, having disappointed in their Euros title defence, but the manager, who replaced Roberto Mancini last August on a contract until 2026, will be given more time.
"Yesterday there was a long chat with the coach and I think it is unthinkable to solve problems by abandoning a project that is multi-year, you cannot abandon the project after eight or nine months," Gravina told reporters.
"A coach who has been in charge for nine or 10 games is central to the project, and he cannot always have all the players available.
"(Spalletti) has our confidence. He must work because in 60 days there is already a new challenge."
While confirming the coach, Gravina reflected on the disappointment of Euro 2024, where they were outclassed by Spain and needed a last-minute goal against Croatia to stay in the tournament before the final knockout blow by Switzerland.
"What unfortunately remains is the disappointment of not having been able to demonstrate to those who followed us everything that has been done," Gravina said.
