From Hell to Heaven and Back to Hell: This was the path of the Azores in recent years. The fact that the Italians missed the 2018 World Cup is long overdue, but that bad taste faded last summer thanks to great football and the European Championship title. Now, less than a year later, the Squadra Azzurra is back at square one.
“The European Championship was the best experience of my career and this is the biggest disappointment,” said Roberto Mancini, who was deeply disappointed after the failure against North Macedonia.
“What can I say? This is football. Sometimes unbelievable things happen. It should never have gotten to the point where we had to play the jump. However, we did everything we could to win tonight. It wasn’t meant to be. That it be. I am speechless.”
“Last summer we deserved to become European champions, with excellent football. The bit of luck we got then turned into a huge part of the setback, which we have had to deal with since September. A goal against him in the 92nd minute tonight fits perfectly in that photo “.
“This is a group of good players. I feel sorry for them. This is a very difficult moment for this team and I am very committed to the players. We are disappointed, but this group has a bright future.”
Mancini didn’t want to say anything about his future on Thursday night. “We’ll see. It’s too early to say anything about that now. For now, the disappointment is greater than talking about the future.”
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