Can't say I have too much sympathy with Italy failing to qualify for the World Cup in Russia - having been watching footie as long as I have, Italy can be pretty fookin' tedious in major tournaments, too often preferring to stifle the opposition rather than outplay them, despite having had incredibly talented players over the years. ... but I do feel incredibly sad for this guy ... he has been immense throughout the years I have watched his career - right up there with the very best of keepers for me ... and the one part of the pitch where Leicester City have more than held their own is the stopper ... Gordon Banks and Peter Shilton were genuine giants of the game ... and this guy is right up there with them, IMHO ... please log in to view this image ... enjoy the retirement Gianluigi ... never let your country down
Yeah gotta feel for the guy. A proper legend in the game and a shame for him that Italy crashed out in the way that they did.
That shot for Sweden goal, the only one in the tie, took a hideous deflection too. Not the keeper's fault in any way. The World Cup without Italy simply won't be the same, even though - Buffon and Chiellini aside - they've actually been **** for years,.
Gigis an absolute legend. Shame hes never won a CL but hes pretty much got most of the collection so he can retire fairly happy
Brilliant player and worth every penny of his (at the time) massive fee. One of the all time greats, if not the best.
Great player, genuine legend of the game. Got a bit of man love for him, and Maldini from the same era more or less. Glad to say I've seen him play. He's one of those players I like to tell the kids I've seen in action.
They played great football in '70, 78, 82, 90, 94, 98 and 06. They were cheated (along with Spain and Portugal in 2002) in order for South Korea to progress but have been rubbish in the last 2 world cups and would have been worse than rubbish had they qualified this year. It would be right to say that they no longer have the calibre of players from yesteryear but as Conte (and Michael O'Neill) proved, you can still mould a team that is greater than the sum of it's parts. Ventura made watching Italy a real chore.
