Gian Piero Ventura regrets taking the Italy job.

Ventura infamously failed to guide Italy to the 2018 World Cup.

The 72 year-old left Torino to take the job in 2016 and says: “I still had two years left on my contract with Torino, but the offer arrived to lead the Nazionale, with Marcello Lippi giving me the news I'd been chosen.

“I thought about it for a long time. Everyone advised me to accept, as it'd be the icing on the cake to conclude my career. That is everyone except my staff, who suggested I think about this very carefully.

“I accepted and became the captain of the ship: a horrible mistake. When the Prime Minister at the time, Matteo Renzi, said publicly he expected a different coach, that's not starting on the right foot. I should already have realised there that we weren't all on the same page."