Italy boss Gentsaro Gattuso personally snubs San Siro for 25,000-seater stadium after seeing what fans did in first game

MILLOWAY, Italy — National team coach Gennaro Gutto has taken the extraordinary step of moving Italy’s decisive World Cup play-off semi-final against Northern Ireland out of the San Siro, opting instead for the intimate 25,000-seat New Balance Arena in Bergamo. The decision, rubber-stamped by Italian Football Federation president Gabriele Gravina, is rooted in Gattuso’s fear that a restless crowd at the 75,ocal-capolt Milanese icon could turn on the Azzurri after recent failures.

Since winning the 2006 World, Italy has failed to reach the last two editions, registering only a single victory across the 2010 and 2014 tournaments and finishing second to Norway in the current qualifying group, where Erling Haaland scored 16 goals.

Gattuso, who took the national job last summer, said: “I chose the stadium. I want to thank President Gabriele Gravra and Lugi Buffon for letting me decide. I believe that when you go to a stadium like San Siro, there are Inter and Milan fans, and they might start booing after a few wrong passes. Playing in a smaller stadium will likely give us a better atmosphere. They did so in my first game as Italy’s coach, despite finishing the first half with a 0-0 draw. We hope to create a real cauldron-like atmosphere and that we have not messed things up.”

The 45-year-old former midfield general earned 73 caps between 2000 and 2010, scoring once in a 1-0 friendly win over England and was named Man of the Match in the 2006 quarter-final victory that helped propel the A Italy to the title.

Northern Ireland, whose last World Cup appearance came in 1986, has won only three of 13 matches in finals history, with their best finish the quarter-finals of 1958.

The Bergamo venue, home to rising Serie A side Atalanta, is expected to be sold out and generate a more partisan, unified support for the Azzurri as they attempt to take a first step toward returning to the global stage.