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Prison and shady dealings: what did the 'Libya curse' do to Italy's legends?
Pirlo's removal reopens the Azzurri's dark chapter
No one could have imagined that the generation which brought all of Italy to tears of joy on the streets of Berlin in 2006, when they were crowned world champions, would become a symbol of collective failure twenty years later. They lifted the World Cup under Marcello Lippi and believed they could recreate that glory from the dugout. Instead, they found that brilliance as a player does not automatically mean brilliance as a coach.
This week brought the final blow to that generation, and it came from a place nobody expected. Andrea Pirlo, the calm architect who scored that famous penalty in the World Cup semi-final, was one step away from making his dream of returning to lead the Azzurri come true. Then, at the very last moment, he was pushed aside over accusations of "Russian ties". That humiliating rejection was only the latest chapter in a long story of decline.
Gattuso allowed the dream of a third straight World Cup to slip away. Cannavaro got lost in the jungles of Asia. Other big names are chasing chances in the second or fourth tier. The curse of the "Lippi generation" has spared nobody. So how did the golden group that knocked out France and Zidane become a generation that cannot even save itself?
Pirlo's collapse before kick-off: Russia links end the dream
No one captures the struggles of this generation better than Andrea Pirlo. The maestro who guided Italy's midfield to World Cup glory saw the Azzurri as the chance to rescue his stuttering coaching career. When Paolo Maldini and Leonardo arrived last July to lead the rebuilding of a lost national team, Pirlo stood out as the preferred and most likely candidate for the role.
Then everything fell apart. Giovanni Malagò, president of the Italian Football Federation, suddenly withdrew his candidacy. The reason given was Pirlo's wide commercial links with Russia, something the organisation felt did not fit the image of the national team at that moment.
The setback did more than deny Pirlo a return to the top. It confirmed the run of failures that has followed him since he retired as a player. A promising but unfinished start at Juventus gave way to underwhelming spells at Turkey's Fatih Karagümrük and Sampdoria, before he moved to United FC in the UAE second division, where he remains under contract even now. It is a journey that never suited a legend of his standing.
Gattuso's failure: the figurehead who could not make the difference
Before Pirlo's unreal collapse, there was a real and emphatic fall for his midfield partner, Gennaro Gattuso. The first coach from the 2006 generation to reach such a high position, "Rino" arrived in June 2025 with a clear and non-negotiable mission: take Italy to the 2026 World Cup and restore the reputation of Italian football after two straight absences from the tournament.
The mission ended in an even bigger disaster. A shocking defeat against Bosnia and Herzegovina left Italy out of the World Cup for the third consecutive time, a humiliating historic first for Italian football. His coaching career began early, back in 2013, and took him through Milan, Napoli, Valencia and Marseille, yet he showed no real tactical growth with the Azzurri and simply repeated the same old errors.
Even so, Gattuso still kept his appeal in the Italian coaching market. He soon found a fresh route back in Serie A by taking charge of Lazio, another attempt to prove that his aggression as a player could finally turn into success as a coach.
A ray of hope: Grosso and De Rossi stand against the curse
Only two names cut through this bleak picture as genuine exceptions to the curse of the Libyan generation, and the pair will face each other in the new 2026-2027 season. Fabio Grosso comes first, the hero of the Berlin night with his goal against Germany and his decisive penalty in the final.
A short spell of no more than 76 days at Olympique Lyonnais threatened to derail him. Yet Grosso reinvented himself at Sassuolo, driving them back to Serie A with an outstanding season. Fiorentina rewarded him with a bigger role, and now he has to prove that his success was not a one-off.
Daniele De Rossi is the second name, and he appears the most tactically mature of the group. His Genoa side finished last season in only sixteenth place, but their performances earned strong praise and highlighted modern attacking ideas.
That spell marked a real breakthrough after two shaky starts with SPAL and Roma. Today he stands among the most promising young coaches in Italy.
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From Serie B to Uzbekistan: a journey of drifting around the world
The stories of the remaining heroes become more complicated once they move away from the spotlight. Filippo Inzaghi, the historic goalscorer who dragged Pisa back to the top flight in 2025, surprised everyone. He walked away from the limelight to take on a new challenge in the second division with Palermo, the City Group-owned club pursuing an ambitious promotion plan.
Waiting there is a former team-mate, Alessandro Nesta, who is trying to rebuild his career once again with Avellino after a full year without work following his failure at Monza.
Fabio Cannavaro, captain of that golden generation, chose a stranger route in search of glory. Short and unconvincing spells at Dinamo Zagreb, Benevento (17 matches) and Udinese (6 matches) followed his time in China. He then decided to go as far as he could, taking charge of Uzbekistan and leading them to the 2026 World Cup. The adventure ended in disaster: they were out at the group stage without a single point.
Alberto Gilardino finds himself in much the same situation. Sacked as Pisa boss last February after failing to keep the club up, he is now without a job. His name has been linked with Torino, Verona and Monza as he waits for a chance to step in as a mid-season saviour.
Massimo Oddo suffered almost the same fate. The most experienced of the group, having coached seven different clubs, he ended up in the fourth division with Milan Futuro. There he came up against another old team-mate, Marco Amelia, the third-choice goalkeeper in 2006, who was himself sacked as Sondrio coach. The strangest journey of all belongs, without doubt, to Mauro Camoranesi. He has travelled the world, from Mexico and Argentina to Slovenia, Malta and Cyprus, where he currently coaches AEK Larnaca.
Seven out of the picture: from television punditry to prison
Seven champions chose a different route. They stayed in the game without ever moving into coaching. Gianluigi Buffon shifted into administrative work at the Italian Federation and earned a sporting director diploma, while Alessandro Del Piero and Luca Toni settled for coaching licences and television punditry.
Cristian Zaccardo became a players' agent. Francesco Totti set up consultancy firms for clubs, and Simone Perrotta now works in sports policy. The more unusual careers belong to Marco Materazzi, who left coaching in India to make wine, Angelo Peruzzi, who briefly dabbled in politics, and Gianluca Zambrotta, who switched from television analysis and the padel business to return to the Italian Federation in an administrative role in June 2025.
Vincenzo Iaquinta is the tragic exception. He walked away from football completely after a two-year prison sentence in 2020 linked to mafia-related investigations. His remains the darkest ending among the heroes of the Berlin triumph.
