The three-time Champions League winner is the ideal man for the Azzurri but he cannot cure the ills of Italian football all on his own
The Gazzetta dello Sport called Italy's failure to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1958 "the apocalypse" and football fans across the country are certainly struggling to come to terms with the full horror of the situation.
This is something new for the majority of Italians: a World Cup without the Azzurri was unprecedented for them. It was unthinkable. Now, though, disbelief has given way to rage.