Does anyone even care about Italy? Inzaghi "lives life to the full", Sarri has "other problems to resolve"
Reading Time: 3min | Tue. 07.04.26. | 22:46
While the Azzurri are looking for a new head coach, the two renowned Italian tacticians both "ditched" the national team, each in his own way and with his own amusing excuse
Italian football is going through an unprecedented crisis. It has been smoldering for the last couple of years, and now, it has escalated.
Serie A has had only one representative in this season's Champions League Round of 16. Atalanta were the last Italian side standing, and were demolished by Bayern Munich 10-2 on aggregate.
Still, the national team's third consecutive failure to qualify for the FIFA World Cup was the toughest blow Italian football had perhaps ever received.
The whole "chain of command" resigned, from the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) President, Gabriele Gravina, over the head of delegation Gianluigi Buffon, to the head coach Gennaro Gattuso.
And while Antonio Conte is flirting with a potential return to the Azzurri's bench, some colleagues of his aren't so thrilled with the idea of taking over the "sinking ship" and trying to rescue it.
Simone Inzaghi and Maurizio Sarri both expressed sadness over the national team's failure, but quickly closed the door to sitting on its bench, offering an intriguing and somewhat amusing excuse.
The former Inter Milan boss and current Al Hilal manager doesn't even miss Italy, enjoying his life in Saudi Arabia.
"Do I miss Italy? I can assure you I don’t: here, I don’t just live well – I live life to the full. In Saudi Arabia, I’ve found a fantastic situation in every respect: the lifestyle, the sporting and non-sporting facilities, and the peace of mind that manages to accompany you even in a job as stressful as mine."
Linked with the #Italy job, Simone Inzaghi has said he's got no interest in leaving #AlHilal... pic.twitter.com/9liSmVTsTD
— foot.mundo (@_footmundo) April 7, 2026
"My name being mentioned as a possible successor to Gattuso? I’m flattered, but as I said, I’m happy here and I have another year left on my contract with Al-Hilal."
"It saddens me greatly that Italy won’t be at the World Cup for the third time in a row; I’m 100 per cent Italian, and my brother even won a World Cup. I am absolutely certain that Italian football will bounce back very soon; I always follow it with the utmost attention," Inzaghi stated talking to the newspaper Liberta via LaPresse.
On the other hand, Lazio head coach Maurizio Sarri didn't beat around the bush, being extremely blunt and very direct.
"I'm obviously sorry, but I have other problems to resolve."
"It's a shame, a national team like ours should be at the World Cup regularly, so some reflection is needed. Right now, I'm not the most suitable person to do it because I've been thinking about other things," the 67-year-old told DAZN via Gianluca Di Marzio.com.
In the end, it's hard to say what's sadder: the crisis Italian football is experiencing or the fact that everyone seems to wash their hands of it.