Monday, February 6th, 2012
Italian fans were upset when most of them watched a live telecast of Italy’s match against Slovakia, which left embarassed faces of the Italian players.
Gazzetta dello Sport led the onslaught with a headline of: “Humiliated by Slovakia, time to go home in shame.”
Corriere dello Sport continued in a similar vein with “Italy, what shame! Out and last in the group”, and Italy’s leading broadsheet Corriere della Sera went with “Italy, farewell to the World Cup”.
La Repubblica focused more on the impact the failure would have on a country obsessed by football.
“Shame and tears, a nation to be rebuilt,” said its headline, before adding: “Slovakia win 3-2 in Johannesburg to knock the Azzurri out in the first round, something that has not happened since 1974. We now look to (new coach Cesare) Prandelli.”
Turin-based La Stampa blamed Lippi for the team’s poor showing. Their headline read: “The failure of Lippi in South Africa. The blackest page of our footballing history.”
Italy has not been out in the Group stages since the 1974 World Cup.