Dirty TackleItaly manager Cesare Prandelli and federation president offer resignations after World Cup elimination
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In the immediate aftermath of Italy's 1-0 loss to Uruguay and resulting elimination from the World Cup in the group stage for the second consecutive time, both manager Cesare Prandelli and Italian federation president Giancarlo Abete announced their intent to resign from their posts.
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Prandelli's decision comes as a surprise since he led Italy to the Euro 2012 final after taking charge of the team soon after the 2010 World Cup. But he's taking full responsability for the team's failure in Brazil after the campaign started out well enough with a 2-1 win over England before losses to Costa Rica and Uruguay.
Said Prandelli after the match (via Football Italia):
“When the technical project fails, it is only right that the Coach takes his responsibility.
“Before renewing the contract, we wanted to continue along a path that had helped us limit and in a way disguise the problems of Italian football.
“I don’t know what happened after that contract, but we suddenly found ourselves treated like a political party and subject to verbal attacks. People accused us of basically taking money from the country.
“I’ve never stolen money from anyone, I always paid my taxes and walked with my head held high. I didn’t want to be told I’d robbed anyone.”
Abete defended Prandelli's record and said that he hoped the coach would reconsider, but he added that his own resignation was "irrevocable."
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