“I only heard self-absolving theses” –

She stated that she was not “a football expert” and might not give technical advice, but Giorgia Meloni did not hold back and expressed her opinion on the defeat of the national team at the 2024 European Championships. Italy, beaten by Switzerland, has attracted the most disparate comments in recent days. It might have been done better, it might have been done more. This is the common feeling. When “things are not going well” – said the prime minister, guest of Paolo Del Debbio – “we need to ask ourselves if something is going wrong in the system”.

What did not convince the leader of Fratelli d’Italia, she explained, was the way in which that debacle was justified. “I have seen many self-absolving theses that worry me a little”, she said in connection with the Dritto e rovescio studio. Meloni then wanted to underline that hers is a “political evaluation and not a football one”. “A problem – she added – comes “from the fact that Italian footballers in Serie A are fewer and fewer, in 2024 they were 35% and if you don’t value them then you find a problem and the national team suffers”.