No World Cup for Italy means there is no job for its coach
ROME— Two days after Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup, the head of the country’s football federation fired national coach Gian Piero
Ventura while ignoring angry calls to quit his job.
Ventura, 69, left in disgrace Wednesday, widely criticized for his tactical decisions that left Italy out of football’s biggest competition for the first time in six decades.
“I spoke with Ventura today and told him that his services are no longer needed,” federation president Carlo Tavecchio said in a brief statement to reporters, adding that he would propose a series of reforms to improve the country’s most popular sport.
Four-time champion Italy lost a playoff to Sweden 1-0 on aggregate Monday.
Ventura’s contract recently was extended to 2020 but the deal included a stipulation that it could be voided in case of a failed qualification. In other soccer news: • Australia and Peru earned the final two spots in the 32-team field for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Mile Jedinak scored three goals in Australia’s 3-1 intercontinental playoff victory over Honduras at Sydney. Peru beat New Zealand 2-0 at Lima to win a two-leg playoff after tying 0-0 on Saturday in New Zealand. Peru last made the World Cup in 1982.
• Aformer Argentine government official threw himself in front of a train and killed himself after being accused of taking bribes — the latest fallout from a widespread corruption probe in professional soccer that has implicated businessmen and top officials in several countries. Jorge Delhon, a lawyer whoworked in the administration of former Argentina President Cris
tina Fernandez, killed himself on Tuesday by jumping in front of a train in Buenos Aires. The suicide came just hours after sports marketing executive
Alejandro Burzaco told a judge in New York that he had paid millions in bribes to Delhon and another person in exchange for TV production rights to soccer matches. • Seattle forward Clint
Dempsey was named the MLS Comeback Player of the Year after a heart condition put his career in jeopardy. Dempsey was the choice after scoring 12 goals in the regular season and leading the Sounders to a second-place finish in the MLS Western Conference in the regular season. Seattle will face the Dynamo in the Western Conference finals next week. Federico Higuain of Columbus and Erick
Torres of the Dynamo were the other finalists.