UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino

MILAN: FIFA president Gianni Infantino revealed yesterday his dispair at Italy’s failure to reach the World Cup finals where he had hoped to hand the trophy to Azzurri captain Gianluigi Buffon.

“I’m sad, yes I’m sad for the World Cup. I almost cried,” Infantino, who holds both Swiss and Italian nationality, said in an interview with Italy’s Gazzetta Dello Sport five months ahead of the World Cup final match in Russia. “I think it’s a collective sadness. We’re talking about a team with a great tradition who give their best in events like this. “But those who are in Russia deserved to qualify and in any case Italy stayed out with an Italian President: do we need anything else to say we’re honest and clean?” Infantino, the Swiss-born son of Italian immigrant parents, took over the scandal-battered world body from disgraced president Sepp Blatter in February 2016.

“I would have liked to have given the cup to Buffon though,” admitted the 47-year-old. Infantino said that there had been signs of trouble within the four-time world champions long before their dramatic failure in last November’s play-offs. “There have been signals to this effect for a long time, and (Matteo) Darmian’s shot against Sweden could have gone in instead of hitting the post, but he would have only concealed the problems. “Italy were the first in the world for organisation, clubs, training, structures, food, tactics. We forgot that, without work, talent is not enough. “How many young people advance to the first team?”. Italy are without a national coach and a football federation president with the FIGC currently under the guardianship of the national Olympic committee CONI. —AFP