By J.T.
“FINE” (“the end”), howled the front page of La Gazzetta dello Sport, Italy’s most popular sporting newspaper. “Apocalisse, disastro” wailedCorriere dello Sport, one of its rivals. Muted supporters, some of them weeping, filed out of bars across the land. An impotent 0-0 draw against Sweden in Milan’s San Siro stadium on November 13th, following a 1-0 defeat in Stockholm three days before, meant that the impossible had happened. Italy’s four World Cup titles have only been surpassed by Brazil. Yet the Azzurri have failed to qualify for next summer’s tournament in Russia—their first absence in 60 years.
In a country which treats football like a religion, such a debacle is an occasion for national mourning. Gianluigi Buffon, the team’s beloved goalkeeper (pictured), tearfully apologised for having “failed at something which also means something on a social level”. For many fans, the disaster seemed emblematic of a broader national malaise. Italy’s economy has struggled to recover after two deep recessions in the past decade. The news on November 14th that GDP growth has risen to 1.8% annually, beating expectations and reaching the highest mark since 2011, was drowned out by claims that the failure to qualify would cost €100m ($118m) in foregone television and sponsorship revenue. The country’s swing towards populist, anti-immigration politics was also clear in the post-match bickering. “Too many foreigners in the field, from the youth to Serie A, and this is the result,” tweeted Matteo Salvini, the leader of the Northern League, a nationalist party, regarding the makeup of Italian club teams. The nation’s favourite game certainly has its problems, but they are hardly severe enough to warrant such hysteria. More concerning to football fans, both in Italy and around the world, should be FIFA’s gravely flawed ranking system, which played an unacknowledged role in pushing the Azzurri towards the World Cup abyss.
