Italy’s Demolition Of Estonia Gifts Gennaro Gattuso A Fairytale Debut

It’s the kind of result every coach dreams of before making their debut: 70% possession, 40 shots on goal, and five goals in a 34-minute timespan.

Indeed, Gennaro Gattuso got the winning start he desperately needed as Italy swept aside Estonia 5-0 in Friday’s FIFA World Cup qualifier.

Having missed out on the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, and with Norway and Israel occupying first and second places in Group I respectively, the pressure on Gattuso has been unwavering since he was named as Luciano Spalletti’s successor in June.

And a first half full of near misses at the Stadio di Bergamo didn’t quite calm the nerves of the 47-year-old as Italy went into the break at nil-all.

Yet, that all changed for the 2006 World Cup winner in the second half. Gattuso reveled as his side broke the deadlock when Moise Kean headed in Mateo Retegui’s flick-on in the 58th minute.

Retegui then made it 2-0 when he side-footed into the bottom corner, before substitute Giacomo Raspadori beat Estonia shot stopper Karl Hein with a stooping header. The floodgates widened further when Retegui scored a powerful header at the end of the match, with Alessandro Bastoni following suit in stoppage time.

“I have to thank the lads for their performance, Gattuso told Italian broadcaster RAI. “In the first half, all they needed was a goal, but they played well.”

Italy captain Gianluigi Donnarumma barely got a touch as Stefano Tonali and Nicolò Barella took turns at directing traffic. Despite holding firm for the opening hour, Estonia were simply no match for an Italian side hungry for goals and intent on restoring its reputation in the global arena.

Ranked 126th in the world, the Sinisärgid found it difficult to contain Gattuso’s 4-2-3-1 formation, with Matteo Politano and Mattia Zaccagni dominating out wide and servicing centre forwards Kean and Retegui.

“We played with two strikers,” Gattuso explained. “We wanted to attack, and that means taking a few risks at this level. Playing against a side that was a little weaker than us, with all due respect, it was only fair to take this approach.”

Retegui’s two-goal performance may have stolen the headlines, but it was Tonali’s ball-winning tenacity in central areas that allowed fullbacks Giovanni Di Lorenzo and Federico Dimarco to press higher.

The Newcastle United midfielder once again reaffirmed himself as the Nazionale’s best outfield player in an area of the field his coach knows all too well.

A gritty former midfielder who marked many of the world’s best playmakers out of the game, Gattuso was brought in by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) to establish a sense of belonging and determination. He’ll sleep more easily having seen Tonali’s unyielding qualities and leadership on display.

“Everyone knows that I love a team that fights hard, because you can make mistakes, but you need the right attitude.”

Gattuso was not the only man in the dugout to make a debut of sorts on the night. With the scoreboard reading 3-0, he paid the favor forward to Francesco Pio Esposito who made his senior international bow in the 84th minute.

After scoring for fun at Serie B club Spezia last season (19 goals), Esposito is on a high after earning his first Serie A appearance for parent club Inter Milan on Sunday. Five days later, the 20-year-old celebrated alongside Retegui and Bastoni, who each headed in the team’s fourth and fifth goals, respectively.

Momentum Shift?

11th-ranked Italy have hit the ground running under Gattuso, who could never have imagined such a fairytale inauguration. But the former Napoli and Milan coach isn’t taking anything for granted.

“The first one is over. Now, there’s another very difficult one. Congratulations to the lads today. Now, let’s focus on the next match.”

On Monday, Italy will face Israel in Hungary. Only victory can take them level with the Skyblue and Whites.

With Norway (12 points) favourites to win the group and earn automatic qualification, one fatal slip-up could see Italy finish lower than second place, meaning the four-time world champions would again miss out on World Cup qualification for an unthinkable third consecutive time.

For the next three days, however, Italians can salute their new dawn.

“Nothing can ever be taken for granted,” Gattuso admitted. “We have an objective, which is to make people happy and bring enthusiasm back to the Italians.”