Gattuso says Italy needs a different mentality to avoid missing another World Cup

ROME (AP) — Gennaro Gattuso is approaching his new job as the coach of an Italy squad in crisis with the same determination and combativeness he used to display on the field as a gritty midfielder.

Replacing the fired Luciano Spalletti, with the four-time champion Azzurri in real danger of failing to qualify for a third straight World Cup, Gattuso knows there’s no room for errors.

“I know it’s not an easy job but nothing is easy in life,” Gattuso said at his presentation Thursday. “There’s not much to say. There’s work to do.

“I need to get inside the players’ heads. I hear often that we don’t have the talent or good enough players anymore. But I think we have the players. We just need to put the players in condition to succeed. We need to get Italy back to the World Cup. That’s fundamental.”

Spalletti was fired after Italy lost its opening qualifier 3-0 at Norway. The Azzurri are already nine points behind Norway in their World Cup qualifying group — albeit having played two matches fewer than the leader.

Gattuso’s debut will be at home to Estonia on Sept. 5. Israel is also in the five-team Group I.

Italy hosts Norway in the final round on Nov. 16. Only the group winner advances directly to next year’s tournament co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. The runner-up enters playoff brackets to be played next March.

That was the stage where Italy was eliminated by Sweden and North Macedonia and ruled out of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, respectively.

But Italy’s struggles go back further, with the Azzurri having failed to advance past the group phase at the 2010 and 2014 World Cups.

Gattuso, however, remains identified as one of the main catalysts of its run to the title in 2006.

“He responded without any hesitation to our call and with the same enthusiasm as when he was called up as a player to the national team,” Italian soccer federation president Gabriele Gravina said.

“And not simply enthusiasm. It’s really a lot more: great spirit of sacrifice, great professionalism and diligence. He told me right away that nobody wins alone, that you win as a squad and a group.”

Gattuso said he wants to set a new standard of dedication whereby even injured players remain at the national team’s training center.

“We have plenty of physical therapists and medical staff,” Gattuso said. “If I had listened to my body, I would have played 50 fewer matches. We need to go beyond our limits.”

Gattuso said he had already made calls to 35 players, including Federico Chiesa.

Chiesa was a standout on the Italy team that won the European Championship in 2021 but hasn’t played much since leaving Juventus for Liverpool last year.

“I told Chiesa that he needs to find a way to play more regularly,” Gattuso said.

One player who Gattuso did not call was 37-year-old defender Francesco Acerbi, who turned down his call up for the Norway match, where he was expected to mark Erling Haaland.

“I respect him,” Gattuso said. “But I called other, younger players who I think can offer us something.”

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Italian former player Gianluigi Buffon, left, talks to reporters during a press conference with newly appointed Italian national soccer team head coach Rino Gattuso, center, and Italian Soccer Federation, FGCI, president Gabriel Gravina, in Rome, Thursday, June 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Newly appointed Italian national soccer team head coach Rino Gattuso arrives for a press conference, in Rome, Thursday, June 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Newly appointed Italian national soccer team head coach Rino Gattuso holds a press conference, in Rome, Thursday, June 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Newly appointed Italian national soccer team head coach Rino Gattuso, center, poses for photographers with Italian Soccer Federation, FGCI, president Gabriel Gravina, right, and former player Gianluigi Buffon as he arrives for a press conference, in Rome, Thursday, June 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Newly appointed Italian national soccer team head coach Rino Gattuso, right, holds a press conference, in Rome, Thursday, June 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powellsaid Sunday the Department of Justice has served the central bank with subpoenas and threatened it with a criminal indictment over his testimony this summer about the Fed’s building renovations.

The move represents an unprecedented escalation in President Donald Trump’s battle with the Fed, an independent agency he's repeatedly attacked for not cutting its key interest rate as sharply as he prefers. The renewed fight will likely rattle financial markets Monday and could over time escalate borrowing costs for mortgages and other loans.

The subpoenas relate to Powell’s testimony before the Senate Banking Committee in June, the Fed chair said, regarding the Fed’s $2.5 billion renovation of two office buildings, a project Trump has criticized as excessive.

Here's the latest:

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Fed Chair Powell said Sunday the DOJ has served the central bank with subpoenas and threatened it with a criminal indictment over his testimony this summer about the Fed’s building renovations.

The move represents an unprecedented escalation in Trump’s battle with the Fed, an independent agency he has repeatedly attacked for not cutting its key interest rate as sharply as he prefers. The renewed fight will likely rattle financial markets Monday and could over time escalate borrowing costs for mortgages and other loans.

The subpoenas relate to Powell’s testimony before the Senate Banking Committee in June, the Fed chair said, regarding the Fed’s $2.5 billion renovation of two office buildings, a project that Trump has criticized as excessive.

Powell on Sunday cast off what has up to this point been a restrained approach to Trump’s criticisms and personal insults, which he has mostly ignored. Instead, Powell issued a video statement in which he bluntly characterized the threat of criminal charges as simple “pretexts” to undermine the Fed’s independence when it comes to setting interest rates.

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President Donald Trump speaks to reporters while in flight on Air Force One to Joint Base Andrews, Md., Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

President Donald Trump waves after arriving on Air Force One from Florida, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)