Rome, 3 April (LaPresse) – The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) and Gennaro Ivan Gattuso have mutually terminated the contract that bound the Calabrian coach to the Italian national football team. The FIGC announced this in a statement, “thanking Gattuso and his entire staff for the professionalism, dedication and passion with which they have worked over the last nine months, and wishing them every success for the rest of their careers”. “With a heavy heart, having failed to achieve the goal we had set ourselves, I consider my time in charge of the national team to be over,” said Gattuso. “The Azzurri shirt is the most precious asset in football, which is why it is right to facilitate future technical assessments with immediate effect. I would like to thank President Gabriele Gravina and Gianluigi Buffon, and with them all the staff at the Federation, for the trust and support they have always shown me. It has been an honour to lead the national team, and to do so with a group of lads who have shown commitment and loyalty to the shirt. But my greatest thanks go to the fans, to all Italians who, over these past months, have never failed to show their love and support for the national team. Always with the Azzurri in my heart.” “I would like to thank Gattuso once again,” said Gravina, “because, as well as being a special person, he has made a valuable contribution as a manager, managing in just a few months to restore enthusiasm for the national team. He has instilled in the players and the whole country a great sense of pride in the Azzurri shirt.”
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