Roberto De Zerbi has criticized Italian football for having an ‘arrogance’ regarding PSG following Inter Milan’s crushing loss in the Champions League Final. Inter faced their worst defeat in a Champions League final, losing 5-0 to PSG at the Allianz Arena. They had also been defeated by Manchester City in the previous season’s final. “Inter are a strong team and Inzaghi is a skilled coach, so a five-goal difference is too much,” De Zerbi said on Alessandro Cattelan’s Supernova podcast in Italy (via Football Italia). “The issue is that Italian football was unaware of PSG and its arrogance played a part.” They were unaware that whenever they begin with a kick-off, they tend to kick the ball out of bounds like in rugby, or that Ousmane Dembele positions himself near the penalty area to capitalize on stray passes, and that Doué is a promising talent comparable to Yamal, even if he hasn’t yet made as much of an impact. “They were also oblivious to the fact that Vitinha might be the best midfielder in the world right now, along with Neves and Pacho. In Italy, there was no mention of my Marseille finishing in second place, and they seem to disregard Ligue 1, not recognizing that it’s a challenging league. “Football is tough everywhere; just take a look at Italy’s performance in Norway.” Additionally, check out: Juventus Pursues Osimhen from Napoli. Luciano Spalletti was dismissed after Italy suffered a 3-0 loss to Norway in Oslo, which has already complicated their quest to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. This situation puts Italy at risk of missing out on qualifying for a third World Cup in a row. De Zerbi, currently in charge of Marseille, expressed that as an Italian living abroad, it is painful to witness his national team’s struggles in the qualifiers. He remarked that there is currently a shortage of players performing at a high level, indicating an underlying issue. He added, “I don’t know who is to blame, but the coaches cannot be held responsible, as there have been numerous changes in management.” No one can approach things in such a distinct manner now. “We are not in the time of Totti, Del Piero, Inzaghi, or Montella, when there were so many forwards that it was hard to choose who to take to tournaments. This is the situation for France and Spain currently, but not for Italy. “Besides a handful of very talented players such as Bastoni, Barella, Tonali, and Locatelli, there isn’t a lot of skill available.” We’re unable to match the level of players such as Haaland, Odegaard, and Nusa.
