June 04, (THEWILL) – If Italy had qualified for the FIFA World Cup in 2022, Giorgio Chiellini said he would have stayed at Juventus for another season.
After 17 trophy-winning years at La Vecchia Signora, the veteran defender is moving on to the American Major League Soccer (MLS). Chiellini is set to join Los Angeles FC (LAFC) in the coming days, once his contract with Juventus expires at the end of June.
In a recent interview, the 37-year-old explained the thinking behind his move: “Yes, I would have continued because I wanted to try to change my history with the World Cup, which has never been happy. I tried hard, but I couldn’t do it. In 2010 we went out badly in a more than manageable group, in 2014 we had a great start, but we made life difficult for ourselves by losing the seeded place because we then played in really prohibitive conditions, with crazy travel, schedules and heat.
“In 2018, we didn’t even qualify and I had this big regret. You think that if we had qualified for Russia, I would have left the national team after that World Cup. And I probably would have made a mistake, because then I had my best years.”
After winning Euro 2020 and defeating England in the final at Wembley Stadium, Italy was surprisingly unable to qualify for the tournament in Qatar. Their performance has not improved significantly since then. Argentina defeated Italy 3-0 in Chiellini’s final international match this week.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
