PRESIDENT of the Italian FA Carlo Tavecchio has resigned from his role following his country’s disastrous World Cup qualifying campaign.
The four-time world champions failed to make the summer tournament in Russia for the first time since 1958 following a shock play-off defeat to Sweden.
Head coach Gian Piero Ventura was one of the first out of the door as Italian football chiefs plot a major shakeup.
And now Tavecchio has become the second victim to the Azzurri’s failings by handing in his resignation.
The 74-year-old apologised to all Italians following the 1-0 second leg loss but was keen to lay the blame at Ventura’s door.
Tavecchio had even signalled his intentions to stay in the role after revealing Chelsea boss Antonio Conte remains their top managerial target.
Speaking to reporters, he said: “I’m sorry.
“I’m leaving because I failed. I apologise to all Italians. Now is the time for Italian football to embark on a new era.
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“With a little intelligence, this debacle could’ve been avoided. The Swedish players are very tall and strong, so we should’ve approached them with a different philosophy.
“We played badly. Against players who are all nearly two metres tall, we kept putting in crosses. We should’ve gone around them with the little guys. I thought of correcting him.
“I thought there are 100,000 Neapolitans in Milan, at least 20,000 would be at the stadium, how can you not play [Napoli forward Lorenzo] Insigne?
“The debacle was technical. The choices made by the coach were wrong. I have to say it.”
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