Journalist Roberto Beccantini offered his thoughts on the Italian national team`s defeat in Norway, sharing his comments on his website. He writes: “Who was at fault, Rovella? To paraphrase Uncle Vujadin`s Pagliuca from Fantozzi, the disaster remains. And what a disaster it is. Norway three, Italy zero. In Oslo, under a deluge. This was supposed to be the first leg of the journey towards that World Cup we`ve missed since 2014, having gone out immediately in the elimination playoffs under Ventura and Mancini. The European crown of 2021 shines sadly, solitary, and final (very final).
Poor Spalletti. From the `great beauty` of Napoli to the `great ugliness` of this national team, lacking leadership and heart. We are ninth in the FIFA rankings; they are thirty-eighth. Yet, they looked like Brazil. Nusa (born in 2005) in Garrincha mode: what a goal his was (dribbling, re-dribbling, and a flowing right-footed shot). Odegaard orchestrated in Gerson mode. Haaland, not quite Careca but certainly not the `Spanish Serginho`: an empty-net goal after rounding `Gigio` (Donnarumma), following a metaphysical assist from Odegaard. Not to mention Sorloth, the `opener`, and Berg hitting the post in a second half they controlled comfortably without needing to resort to brute force.
The transition from the `manita` in Monaco (referencing a potential 5-0 win) to this massacre leads to the same conclusions. Only one team was on the field: the opponents. The `azure darkness` enveloped and upset everyone: the coach (where were the Osimhen, Kvara, and Lobotka equivalents?), the players, from Bastoni (distracted on the play that broke the deadlock), to Tonali and Barella, from the full-backs to Retegui. Italy`s first shot on target came in the 92nd minute: an aerial `phone call` by Lucca, resulting in a dive from Nyland purely for the cameras. Among the least bad was Coppola, making his debut. The defender, filling in for the absent Acerbi, was tasked with marking Pep`s `chubby` center-forward (Haaland). Substitutions were late and ultimately just window dressing.
My Sinner will be Chiesa, declared good Luciano (Spalletti) long ago, in unsuspected times. It happens. The hope is that the fault lies solely with the coach, whose job some are already calling for. I have many doubts. And I`ll keep them,” Beccantini concludes.