A tense day for Italian football management after Italy's defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Sports Minister Andrea Abodi bluntly expressed his views.
Abodi said: "I feel regretful when I think about the fact that an entire generation of young people has not yet experienced the joy of watching the national team compete in the World Cup. I thank the team and its coach for their efforts last night, but everyone knows that Italian football needs to be rebuilt, and this process must start with the renewal of the leadership of the Italian Football Federation."
"Over the years, the government has shown its support for the entire Italian sports industry with practical actions. Our athletes have brought us great joy in many projects, and I think that it is inappropriate to evade one's own responsibility by blaming relevant institutions for inaction and belittling the importance and professional standards of other sports projects, after failing to qualify for the World Cup three times in a row."
Would reducing foreign players to give local players more opportunities be the solution? That night, Abodi also responded to reporters' questions about the future direction: "This is exactly what we are trying to achieve. We must change this model, which not only prevents us from qualifying for the World Cup for the third time in a row, but also fails to allow Italian football talents, especially young talents, to develop."
"We can still cultivate talents in the U19 age group, but the U21 team has missed the Olympic Games for four consecutive sessions. This is enough to prove that this training model has failed when players grow up and compete with foreign players."
"We will not be marginalized. There are teams that win the youth league, but there is not a single Italian player on the field... We must learn from this third World Cup exit, and I think that with the help of Europe, we can guarantee the number of Italian players on the field."
"I propose that after the leadership of the Football Association is replaced, we should immediately discuss solutions with all parties to promote progress in this direction."