La Repubblica shed even more light on the backstage events before the great humiliation of the Italian national team, which recently missed out on the World Cup against Bosnia.
As the Italian media revealed, before the crucial playoff final, the Azzurri players allegedly demanded a bonus of 300,000 euros (approximately 10,000 euros per player) if they secured their ticket to the tournament!
Gennaro Gattuso's intervention was decisive then, as he prevented the players from continuing negotiations with the federation, as they insisted that this request be met.
The 48-year-old coach, who left after the match in Sarajevo, argued that any discussion about bonuses should take place only if and when the team secured qualification.
In short, he told them to focus solely on their playing duties, putting money aside.
As the Italian newspaper characteristically notes, the turn of events for the Azzurri vindicated "Rino" and, in a way, exposed the team's players for their wrong mentality before such a crucial game.