News Focus
- Veteran coach Serse Cosmi backs Silvio Baldini to remain as Italy manager
- Cosmi praises Baldini’s communication skills amid Azzurri crisis
- Italy missed the World Cup for the third time in a row
- Cosmi blames Italian football’s leaders for the decline
- He warns that football cannot survive without passionate fans
Serse Cosmi has urged the Italian Football Federation to keep Silvio Baldini as the national team coach. The veteran manager believes Baldini possesses the vision and communication skills that Italy desperately needs.
Cosmi spoke at the Benito Stirpe Live The Dream event. He told TuttoMercatoWeb that Baldini has already proven his worth. The interim coach has said more in two press conferences than many managers say in one hundred, according to Cosmi.
“My view is biased, but I would keep Baldini,” Cosmi stated. “A coach who communicates like that should stay with the national team. He connects with people.”
Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for the third consecutive time. The Azzurri are searching for stability after this disaster. Cosmi insists the problem lies with the leadership, not the players or youth development.
“I am clear about this. We lack the right people,” Cosmi said. “In the last ten years, those in charge have not matched the standards of Italian football. I mean the people involved in running the game, not those at the very top.”
Cosmi also spoke about the changing relationship between football and its supporters. He believes the modern game risks losing its connection with fans.
“People watch football differently now compared to thirty or forty years ago,” he explained. “The love for the game remains, but we must review certain things. Football cannot exist without the public and their passion. When that disappears, football will end.”
The coach also shared a memory about Argentine striker Ezequiel Lavezzi. Cosmi revealed he studied hours of footage of the player during one season. However, the move never happened. Genoa were relegated, Cosmi left the club, and Lavezzi eventually joined Napoli instead.