Italy fires coach Giampiero Ventura

The Italian Football Federation (IFF) has sacked coach Giampiero Ventura after the Italian team failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.

Coach Giampiero Ventura refused to resign until he was fired by the Italian Football Federation. Photo: Reuters

The decision was made after Italy lost 0-1 on aggregate to Sweden in the European play-off for a ticket to the 2018 World Cup. This is also the first time since 1958 that Italian football has been absent from the World Cup.

After this result, Italian fans waited for Ventura to resign, but the 69-year-old coach ignored public opinion. Mr. Ventura even said that with only 2 losses in 2 years of leading the Italian team, this was "one of the best performances in the last 40 years" of Italian football.

The IFF has yet to announce who it will appoint to replace Ventura. Some sources say former Chelsea and Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti is a strong candidate. Ancelotti is currently out of management after being sacked by Bayern Munich in late September.

According to TTO