Alessandro Del Piero did not bother with diplomacy when asked about Italian football’s latest collapse. Speaking to Sky Calcio, the former Juventus playmaker said the national team’s third consecutive failure to reach the World Cup, after a penalty shootout defeat to Bosnia, reflects a system in serious trouble.

A harsh verdict

“There are many negative feelings: sadness, anger, disappointment and disbelief,” Del Piero said. “The first time was a shock, the second was a nightmare, and the third is embarrassing to explain. Regardless of who is to blame, Gattuso, Buffon or Gravina, we are far behind, not only compared with our own standards, but also compared with countries that studied, started again and had the courage to take certain paths, like France and Germany. Even if, today, the solutions seem very far away.”

Del Piero’s message was clear enough. Italy is not suffering from a single bad night. It is suffering from years of drift, and the bill is now overdue.

No scapegoat, just a system that is not working

He went on to argue that there should be no search for one convenient culprit. The problem, he said, has to be examined as a whole.

“I believe in team work. There should be no scapegoat or one person expected to fix everything,” Del Piero said. “We need to understand what is not working in men’s football, because women’s football and other sports are doing extraordinary things. The problems are in youth development, but also in stadiums and investment. It depends on many people, from club presidents down to executives and coaches. We need to step back and admit that we are no longer the best, not even second or third. Pride has to be set aside, and humility is needed.”

Time, planning and a little less self-preservation

The former Italy forward, who made 91 appearances and scored 27 goals for the national team, also pointed to what he sees as one of the sport’s main failures in Italy: short-term thinking.

“It is not just about money, it is about planning with steps that have to be respected,” he said. “Time is needed. Given time, Gasperini at Atalanta became immortal. Ancelotti at Juventus seemed like the worst coach in the world, but that is not true. We need something more than just thinking about protecting ourselves. Players are not built, they are shaped and helped to arrive.”