The Malocchio Returns - Italy’s World Cup Curse
Italy misses out on the World Cup again, fueling talk of a “curse” after their loss to Bosnia, marking three consecutive absences from the global stage.
Italy has a big problem. It forgot how to qualify for the World Cup.
It has talent, it has experience, it has a bright future — but it lacks that last little push, that last little bit of luck. If I were superstitious, I would say — like they say in Sicily — that a Mavara, a strega, has given the Italian national team the malocchio, the evil eye.
They have now missed three World Cups. The last time, they were eliminated by North Macedonia. This time, by Bosnia-Herzegovina on penalties.
The match started with Italy playing well, circulating the ball and pressing high up the field. As a result, the Bosnian goalkeeper made an error that Barella seized upon, laying the ball off to Kean, who smashed it into the corner. However, everything changed when Bastoni received a red card at the end of the first half. From that moment on, Italy had one choice: the catenaccio — a solid defensive wall. But there was no Maldini, no Baresi, no Cannavaro, no Gentile, and on the 79th minute, Tabakovic scored the equalizer.
With a man down for the entire second half and extra time, the pressure Bosnia exerted was continuous and brutal. Italy was betting on Donnarumma and the penalty shootout. But to bet on your goalkeeper, you also have to bet on the players who step up to take the kicks. Anything can happen. It's all mental.
There is history here: the famous Roberto Baggio penalty at the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the USA, which sailed over the crossbar at the Rose Bowl and, as legend would have it, into the Pacific Ocean. Italy loses; Brazil is champion. On the other hand, there is also the memory of the 2006 FIFA World Cup final against France — a penalty shootout in which Fabio Grosso struck the winning kick and turned the sky above Berlin azzurro. In Bosnia, history took a different turn, and the sky was Bosnian blue.
It's a shame, because Italy had a good team — one that could have surprised many at the World Cup. As Gattuso said after the match: "It has been years since we last saw a National Team with such heart."
But in the end, as one famous footballer once said, you have teams that want to win more than others — and today, Bosnia was one of those teams. It had more heart.
Italy, once again, will watch the World Cup on TV.
