Italy’s shambolic Euro 2024 title defence shows how much football can change in three years

Cannot bear to look: Italy's Mateo Retegui doubtless sums up many an Italian's emotions after they were knocked out of the tournament by Switzerland - Getty Images/Jonathan Moscrop

The great Gianluigi Buffon enjoyed one of the finest moments of his career in Berlin’s Olympiastadion. The former goalkeeper was part of the Italy side that won the World Cup here in 2006, and this week he was regaling the current crop with stories of that tournament.

“He discussed it with everyone,” said Luciano Spalletti, the Italy head coach, a few days ago. “He allowed us to relive all of the excitement that we enjoyed, watching it back home in 2006. We know we have to honour the comparisons with our predecessors.”

On Italy’s return to Berlin, did the class of 2024 succeed in “honouring” the boys of 2006? The answer could be found on the face of Buffon during this humbling defeat by Switzerland. Sitting on the bench in his suit and tie, in his role as Italy’s head of delegation, he scowled towards the pitch and then, with unmistakable sadness, shook his head in disgust.

Evidently, this Italy side is not at the same levels of the World Cup-winning group of 18 years ago. Not even close. But we already knew that. What is more remarkable, and surely far more alarming for Italian football, is that the current Italy also do not appear to be anywhere near the levels of 2021, when they won the European Championship. An awful lot has changed in three years, and not for the better.

Truly, this was a shambolic attempt at a title defence. Italy conceded after 23 seconds in their opening game, against Albania, lost to Spain and then required a last-second goal against Croatia to escape their group. At no point did they look particularly convincing, and at no point in this meeting with Switzerland did they look capable of scoring.

Italy never looked like scoring in Berlin as they limped out of the tournament - Getty Images/Charlotte Wilson

With each passing month, the Italian triumph of Euro 2020 feels increasingly like an anomaly, rather than any sort of reflection of Italian technical dominance. This is a nation, after all, that did not qualify for the 2018 or 2022 World Cups.

The contrast between Italy and Switzerland was there for all to see. Not only on the pitch, where the red shirts surged and the blue shirts sagged, but also in the stands. The Swiss fans were on their feet throughout, in salute of a superb collective performance. The Italians sat, their faces much like Buffon’s in the dugout.

A measure of a well-drilled team is when good players are made to look excellent by the system they are in. This was unquestionably the case for Switzerland, and it was the opposite for Italy. The likes of Nicolo Barella, Federico Chiesa and Alessandro Bastoni are considered top players, but they did not play like it in the sweltering Berlin sun.

Afterwards, Spalletti was asked whether Italy were a Fiat Panda compared to Switzerland’s Ferrari. He did not take it well. “You are clearly a wonderful exponent of sarcasm,” he said, before asking for the reporter’s name.

Spalletti also faced questions over his future in the job. “I have the responsibility for what happened,” he said. “I picked the players. This is part of a process where I need to get to know the players.”

Italy’s lack of quality with the ball was one of their more obvious issues, but the absence of any sort of energy without it was even more striking.

“I think the team were timid in terms of the intensity,” said Spalletti. “We don’t have really quick defenders who can cover a lot of space in behind so therefore you need to afford the opposition a bit of space. The big difference tonight was the intensity. That is not an excuse, though. If we failed, we failed, and we failed in terms of my team selection and the way I conducted myself.”

Italy manager Luciano Spalletti got angry during the post-match press conference after his side were dumped out of the Euros - AP/Markus Schreiber

Only four of Italy’s starters against Switzerland were also in the starting lineup for the Euro 2020 final against England. That is a considerable amount of change in a relatively short period of time, and there will be searching questions in Italy as to whether this new generation will ever reach the required standard.

“We can only apologise to everyone,” said captain Gianluigi Donnarumma. “It really hurts. “We lacked courage and quality. We let people down. There are many talented young players in the side who need experience, so they can do well in the future.”

If that nod to the future was a sign of defiance, it was soon followed by acceptance. “I realise it is tough to accept these words right now,” he added.

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