Ventura: "Italy job a huge mistake"

He was on the

bench from July 2016 until his removal in November 2017, some days after

lost the play-off and failed to fit for the 2018 World Cup.

“My first huge mistake was accepting the job in the first place and the second was not quitting earlier,” Ventura told.

“There was a hostile climate and everything was pointing towards our defeat. For the good of

, I should’ve left earlier."

“In fact, while I was going to sign the contract as CT of the Nazionale, I received a phone call to stop. They told me: ‘Hold on because there’s been an intervention from politics’ to get a different coach.”

Ventura left his career with Torino in order to accept the Azzurri role, another moment he regrets most.

“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 realized there that we weren’t all on the same page.”

Ventura oversaw 17

games, resulting in 10 wins, four draws, and three defeats.