As Baldini takes on the role of interim coach, the most popular tournament in history kicks off on June 11th, with a slice of Italy capable of making its mark even beyond its borders, with Brazil, Turkey, and Uzbekistan. The magical nights belong to others...
The 2026 World Cup is the most widespread ever because it is spread across Canada, Mexico, and the United States of America: much more than the 2002 edition split in two between Japan and South Korea and the 2026 Milan & Cortina Winter Olympics.
For the third time—and consecutively!—Italy's only notable absence from the tournament, which is held every four years, is the result of their anger at failing to qualify among the record 48 teams competing for the trophy, which the Italian national team has won four times: in Italy in 1934, in France in 1938, in Spain in 1982, and in Germany in 2006.
The blue sky above Berlin has darkened and is torn by the naivety of football's masters. The fratricidal battles between the League and the Federation have been raging for decades, and the third failure is more newsworthy than the potential qualification for the trip to the New World, which failed in the decisive match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, a "small town" of just 3,3 million inhabitants compared to Italy's nearly 60 million. On March 31, 2026, the crumbs of Gennaro Gattuso's team were punished on a penalty by a nation 18 times smaller in population, but with a heart decidedly bigger than ours.
To have the World Cup trophy to display at home and even at the Italian Football Federation, the celebrated and incredibly wealthy Italian footballers can invest the paltry (for them) €180 to buy a Lego kit to build their own model of the Cup... We had a problem, and we got it out of our system. Sandro Tonali—the only Azzurri player comparable to the heroes of Berlin—should not be held against him for this trivial quip.
For us, children of a lesser God, wounded by an unacceptable elimination, there's nothing left to do but sink into our seats at home, enjoying the exploits of others in the longest tournament ever, from June 11th to July 19th. The summer will be scorching hot for some other Italians:
- such as Carlo Ancelotti (with his son Davide in tow) at the helm of Brazil, who are aiming to rise one step above the four Italian Cups. The Verdeoro are already record holders with five and in 2026 are seeking a sixth triumph, saying they are willing to wait for the injured Da Silva Santos Junior Neymar, whatever the cost, to confirm a completely front-wheel drive team;
- such as Vincenzo Montella at the helm of the Turks heralded as the revelations of the entire tournament 24 years after having regained a place in the elite to revive the bronze medal from the now distant edition of Japan-South Korea;
- Fabio Cannavaro—and the image of him holding the Cup high in the blue sky is vivid in the minds of Italians—now leading Uzbekistan, a team with less than forty years of experience as a national team and making its top-level debut against hosts Canada. He will undoubtedly capitalize on the experience he's gained around the world and, drawing inspiration from his mentor Marcello Lippi, will instill in the new leaders of his adopted federation the highly prestigious skills that Italy has gradually lost.
Just as interested as we are, or perhaps more so, are the export talents of that Italy that knows how to be a protagonist in Ukraine (Andrea Maldera), Hungary (Mario Rossi), Slovakia (Franco Calzona), Albania (Rolando Maran) and even Malta (Emilio De Leo), remaining in the segment of technical commissioners.
And it doesn't end there, because at club level, Roberto De Zerbi, who currently coaches Marseille in the French Ligue 1, Francesco Farioli, the driving force behind Porto in Portugal, Alessio Lisci, who joined Osasuma in the Spanish La Liga, and Enzo Maresca, who currently manages Chelsea in the English Premier League, are also highly regarded abroad. Meanwhile, Andrea Pirlo, Fabio Viviani, and Walter Zenga have landed in the gilded cages of the United Arab Emirates, aiming to transcend the less than successful experience of Roberto Mancini, who turned his back on the national team and, for that very reason, shouldn't be considered to succeed Gattuso.
Having met him as a boy about to leave Emilia-Romagna to "emigrate" to Rome, our gaze is turned primarily to Carlo Ancelotti's coaching, who, on the day after his 67th birthday, will begin "managing" the five-time champions, who have landed in the arduous Group C with Morocco, Haiti, and Scotland. "Carletto" has a specific task: to bring home the Cup to present to his grandchildren, who push him morally well beyond the line drawn by president Luiz Inazio Lula Da Silva, who initially "wasn't enthusiastic" about the Italian coach and then recommended using Neymar "only if the player has the firm will to be part of the team."
"We're all waiting for Neymar for the opening match against Morocco. And if he doesn't make it, we'll be waiting for him for the next match against Haiti," Ancelotti simply said, trying to go beyond Lula's dictates. The coach, who boasts a record seven Champions League titles (two as a player and five as a coach), knows how to dribble past opponents and avoid certain pre-match stresses, and dreams of reaching the Final on July 19, 2026, at the New York New Jersey Stadium. Maurizio Mariani also dreams of this, as he could become the fourth Italian referee to win this award after Sergio Gonella, Pierluigi Collina, and Nicola Rizzoli.
Scattered here and there, at the most widespread World Cup ever, are many Italians who failed to become prophets in their homeland and who found fortune far from the peninsula: assistant coaches, physiotherapists, nutritionists, strategists for sophisticated game tactics. While we wait to see them roam Canada, Mexico, and the United States alongside the men selected by Ancelotti, Montella, and Cannavaro, let's take a look at Silvio Baldini, the man who guided Gattuso to who knows who else at the helm of the national team. The Tuscan from Massa is sailing towards his 68th birthday, having performed well in Serie B and lower, as well as with the Azzurri Under-21s. He has placed Gianluigi Donnarumma at the center of the project, which aims to discover the young up-and-coming Azzurri players along with some "seasoned" players. However, everyone is required to abide by some fixed rules with no exceptions, limiting smartphone use, abolishing single hotel rooms, and encouraging everyone to have breakfast by 9 a.m. Etc.
Daniele Molteni on “Leggo” took the trouble to name others, emphasizing: “Ancelotti has in his staff his son Davide, Francesco Mauri (the two assistant coaches), Simone Montanaro and Mino Fulco. Montella is supported by Davide Russo, Pierpaolo Pollino and Massimo Crivellaro. Working alongside Cannavaro are his brother Paolo, former Juventus goalkeeper Antonio Chimenti, Francesco Troise, Eugenio Albarella and Enrico Castellacci, the doctor of the 2026 Italian champions. They are the famous “secondi” (assistants), the athletic trainers, match analysts, and goalkeeping coaches. Super professionals and invaluable collaborators of those who lead from the bench. Guido Nanni, the man who brought the phone to Totti for the famous selfie under the Sud in the 2015 derby, and Paolo Rongoni are in the former Lazio player Petkovic's group with the Algeria national team, as goalkeeping coach and fitness trainer. Mario Pafundi, a former cyclist, is the physiotherapist for the team.” Haaland from Norway, Fabio Massimo Francioni from Qatar, Andrea Lanfranco from Switzerland, Yuri Annechiarici from France, the title favorite, and Nicolas Chiesa is working for Ecuador. Finally, the referees. Maurizio Mariani leads our team (Bindoni and Tegoni are assistants, and Di Bello is VAR).
Well done, Molteni. You did a good job.
Italy is forced to sit back, leaving the proverbial magic nights to others, and to start again with a Baldini – Silvio to be precise – who in sport is a surname of guarantee both because of Ercole the powerful cyclist, and because of Stefano “God of Marathon” as we headlined in the Gazzetta the day after his feat at the 2004 Athens Games and for which he still thanks us…
