I Did Badly, I Made Mistakes: Spalletti

Sacked coach admits he failed to lift Italy during his stint as he bows out with a win

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ROME - Luciano Spalletti took charge of Italy one last time on June 9, and while his side sent him off with a win, the sacked coach accepted that he is not leaving the team in a great place for his replacement and has failed to improve them.

Spalletti paid the ultimate price for the 3-0 drubbing in Norway on June 6 as Italy's World Cup qualifying campaign was already compromised in their opening game, and an uninspired 2-0 Group I home win over Moldova in Reggio Emilia was not how he wished to bow out.

"I'm disappointed with the result," the 66-year-old said at his final press conference.

"I don't give back to those who come after me a great national team because we didn't play a great match tonight either. I was given the opportunity to work, I tried, I made mistakes and I even tried some experiments.

"I try to learn everything in whatever I approach, I'm not convinced I'm the smartest one. I haven't been able to get the best out of these players and I have to take note of that."