Inter Milan legend Beppe Bergomi lashed out at Italy boss Gennaro Gattuso for fielding Alessandro Bastoni against Bosnia & Herzegovina.
Speaking to Sky Sport via FCInter1908, the former Nerazzurri center-back slammed the Azzurri coach for his poor tactical decision.
Bosnia & Herzegovina secured only their second FIFA World Cup appearance as an independent nation at the expense of Italy.
Despite trailing Gattuso’s side by a goal to nil, Sergej Barbarez’s side seized the numerical advantage to turn the tie on its head.
Indeed, Alessandro Bastoni received a straight red card for a senseless challenge on Amar Memic late in the first half.
A player of his caliber and experience should have known better.
His sliding tackle was late and needless, giving referee Clement Turpin no choice but to send him off.
Though the Azzurri fought valiantly to hold onto their slender lead, Bosnia found a late equalizer through Haris Tabakovic.
Furthermore, the Italians lost their composure in the shootout, allowing the Dragons to clinch a comfortable victory on penalties.
Beppe Bergomi Blasts Gennaro Gattuso After Italy Defeat vs Bosnia & Herzegovina
“From a technical and tactical standpoint, I think Bastoni is going through a difficult period,” Bergomi said. “It’s useless to deny it. If you want to play him, you have to put him in the best conditions, not as a central defender in a back three.
“When he has to run at full speed, he can struggle. His qualities are different. I always believe in positive energy, and some players go through complicated situations.
“Think of Ettore Messina, who had to step back because of the pressure from social media – think about what these guys are experiencing. It was Gattuso’s responsibility to field him, a risky decision, and it cost us a lot.
“But then, if you want to play with two wingers in this match, with Dimarco and Politano both very deep, they can also get into difficulty – and Kean was the same weapon. Esposito had a chance,” he concluded.
This douchebag is a politician. The real issue in Italy for years is that they only care about money and not developing their talented players. You have Leoni and Chiesa not even playing at Liverpool. Calafiori riding the bench at Arsenal. Retegui in the Saudi league dodging bombs. Even Inter now are considering selling Bastoni and Barella. The federation, league officials and club owners have failed Italy for years. The real issue and blame goes to them.
This douchebag is a politician. The real issue in Italy for years is that they only care about money and not developing their talented players. You have Leoni and Chiesa not even playing at Liverpool. Calafiori riding the bench at Arsenal. Retegui in the Saudi league dodging bombs. Even Inter now are considering selling Bastoni and Barella. The federation, league officials and club owners have failed Italy for years. The real issue and blame goes to them.
3-5-2 is such a silly system.
It’s not… Italians and serie a is BAD…
Bastoni, today most hated person in Italy. :'(
I am 100% sure that Gautusso the ac bilan lose had pio do the first penalty shoot because he knew he would miss so he can affect him and therefore pio won;t do welll in inter so Ac bilan would win the Scudetto. The loser manager of Italy made a young inexperience player under 2000000% pressure to do the first shoot,. Anyways Italy is trash and deserve to miss the tournament. Serie A is trash anways and inter should have less Italian players.
Boo hoo… Ronaldo was 21 or so when he was asked to take the first penalty versus Holland in the 1998 world Cup semis… Penalties are hit or miss, though in some cases, some players are good at taking penalties.. Shun the conspiracy theory please. Italy and serie a is WEAK… That’s all there is to it…
Kean missed a one on one to make it 2-0.I blame the poor finishing of the team
Key moments change the game… But the fact is that Italy has failed to qualify for 3 consecutive world cups… That’s no world Cup game for at least 16 years at this point, yet some fans here are living in delusion… I can’t wait to see what the BROTHERHOOD have to say about this… Like I always say… Facts do not lie and do not care about feelings or opinions…
It’s as if if a coach is proven to be bad then its almost guaranteed that they will make mistakes that costs the entire team. Italy never looked like a team to win important matches because the system is flawed. Also defending deep for 45+ mins means you are shooting yourself in the foot because you have players that can change the match but not defend. If it was against peak Brazil or Spain maybe yes but not against Bosnia. In fact after going to 10 men Italy created more chances than when it was 11 vs 11. Now Italy should get a competent coach who actually knows how to plan and execute game plans not just someone who can shout the loudest
True… But my interpretation of all you said is that ITALY AND SERIE A ARE DAFT….
yet you are here. yet you are still following the news. yet you are still watching the game.
That’s what makes one a fan… Teams like Watford have fans too don’t they… The difference between me and THE BROTHERHOOD HERE is that I am not delusional… Once there is admittance that the league is bad and there’s lots of room for improvement, then I can say there’s hope. But with mindsets like yours as well as the whole league, well…. There’s nothing left to say/type but FACTS DON’T CARE ABOUT FEELINGS OR OPINIONS…
Ikr why would Gattuso defend against a Bosnian team that is barely 1/3 of their strength?? I’m a die hard Brazil supporter and crazy over Inter but I would have liked to see Italy in the World Cup. They’d probably exit during group stage but it would have been nice to see them make an appearance. Also THIS is why I have been a huge advocate against the use of the 3 man defense. No serious team (right now) utilize this stupid formation.
Exactly. He should’ve kept Kean and Retegui because they’re PERFECT for counter attacks PERFECT not Pio. Kean and Retegui can both turn their defenders and run but Gattuso reacted to the red card as a defender and not as a coach. Bosnia wouldn’t just pass around and cross as much because they’d know TWO fast attackers are ready to hurt them on 1 vs 1. In fact the plan worked even with Kean going through after a misplaced pass. Even tho Pio was much better over the two matches than Retegui he wasn’t suited in a match. Conceding 30 shots against Bosnia means it was never a match at that point. The decision from the coach killed the match more than the Bastoni mistake when Pio came on meant Bosnia will quickly and easily foul him before and danger develops. Also what was Gattuso thinking he can defend deep with Dimarco because although he has improved massively he’s not someone you want when holding on for dear life. The match proves having a decent coach matters because I believe a Spain/France/Brazil/Germany side beats Bosnia even with 10 men simply because they’ll continue playing and know Bosnia will gaps to be exposed