Gianluigi Donnarumma and Gennaro Gattuso express their desire to ‘write new pages’ in Italy’s football history as they prepare for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

Italy captain Gianluigi Donnarumma has expressed his excitement about working with new coach Gennaro Gattuso, saying the team wants to “write new pages in the history books”.

The Italy squad visited the Nuovo Museo del Calcio exhibit in the Coverciano training camp, ahead of their upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Estonia and Israel.

The museum showcases Italy’s rich football history, including artifacts from their four World Cup victories in 1934, 1938, 1982, and 2006. Gattuso was part of the squad that won the most recent edition, and he couldn’t help but feel emotional about being back in the museum.

Gattuso revealed that he had promised to bring his boots from the 2006 tournament, but his mother has them safely stored away in Calabria and won’t let anyone touch them. “I promised to bring my boots from 2006, but my mother has them in Calabria and she won’t let anyone reach them,” Gattuso said.

Donnarumma praised the museum, saying it gave him goosebumps. “This is a fantastic museum, it gives me goosebumps,” he said.

The Italy squad is determined to make a strong impression in the World Cup qualifiers. Donnarumma emphasized the team’s responsibility to live up to their rich history.

“We do feel a lot of responsibility, as there is so much great history behind us,” he said. “We must give our all to write new pages in the history books and we hope to write many of them along with the coach.”