Furious Italy fans demand Antonio Conte return after they fail to qualify for World Cup
Gian Piero Ventura faced calls for the axe as the unthinkable happened with the four-time champions failing to advance to Russia 2018
FURIOUS Italy fans demanded the return of Antonio Conte as manager after they did the unthinkable and failed to qualify for the World Cup.
The Azzurri lost 1-0 on aggregate to Sweden to miss out on the finals for the first time since 1958.
Naturally irate Italy supporters were calling for the head of current boss Gian Piero Ventura.
And Twitter was full of people desperate for the return of Blues skipper Conte - who has been linked to Paris Saint-Germain.
One wrote: "Bring back Conte and get rid of this pile of s***."
A fellow user said: "I am utterly ashamed of the coaching by Ventura. He had the talent and did not know how to use it. Bring back Conte!"
Another said simply: "Bring back Antonio Conte."
One Twitter user posted: "This Italian manager is an idiot. Bring back Conte or get Ancelotti."
MAMMA MIA Italy fail to qualify for World Cup
Another wrote: "Ventura is the worst Italian coach I have ever seen in my life, an absolute disgrace to the national team. Bring back Conte."
One Tweeter said: "Italy fell apart without footballing mastermind Antonio Conte, that's just facts."
Latest football news
National icon Alessandro Del Piero revealed he hopes Conte - who spent two years in charge of Italy from 2014 to 2016 - returns to the hotseat.
He said: "He [Conte] did great with Juve and a great job with the national team.
"We would love to have him back in Italy, of course, because he is a great coach.
"He would improve any team and this is what he did with Chelsea last season and what he did with Juve as well."
Gary Lineker also voiced his shock at Italy failing to qualify.
He wrote: "Mamma Mia! Italy, 6 times World Cup finalists, 4 times World Cup winners, ever-present in the World Cup finals since 1958, have failed to qualify for #Russia2018. It won't be quite the same without them. Arrivederci."
