Alessandro Campagna’s future as the head coach of the Italian national team is uncertain after the World Championships in Singapore, according to Total Waterpolo’s trusted sources.
There have been issues in the relationship between the experienced 62-year-old coach and the players.
Reportedly, after losing to Greece in the quarterfinals of the Singapore tournament, ten out of fifteen national team members told Campagna that they would not play for Italy if he remained the head coach following the World Championships.
Now, it is up to the Italian Swimming Federation (FIN) to decide whether Campagna will continue to lead the team.
If FIN decides to terminate the contract with Campagna, probably some of the head coaches of the youth and junior national teams will succeed him. According to our sources, one of the most serious candidates is Federico Mistrangelo, who guided the Italian U16 national team to the title of European champion in Istanbul this summer.
Two decades at the helm of the national team
Alessandro Campagna, who was a very successful player, has been coaching Italy for almost two decades.
He played for Italy in the golden era of the “Settebello”, winning many medals at major competitions, including gold medals at the 1992 Olympic Games, 1993 European Championships, and the 1994 World Championships.
Campagna ended his playing career in 1996. In the same year, he was included in the coaching staff of the national team of Italy. He was Ratko Rudic’s assistant for two years. Then, he led the junior national team in 1999 and won gold at the World U20 Championships.
In 2000, Campagna was appointed as Italy’s head coach for the first time. Campagna won the European silver in 2001 and left the Italian national team two years after that. Between 2003 and 2008, he guided Greece, winning three bronze medals at the FINA and LEN tournaments and 4th place at the 2004 Olympic Games.
He retook the helm of the Italian national team in the autumn of 2008. The “Settebello” won a medal at the first competition in Campagna’s second tenure – bronze at the 2009 Mediterranean Games. Still, a few months later, the Italians disappointed their fans with an 11th-place finish at the World Championships in Rome.
But in the next year, they returned to the podium, winning silver at the European Championships in Zagreb, where they lost to Croatia in the final.
Since 2009, Italy has won two Olympic medals (silver in 2012 and bronze in 2016), under Campagna’s guidance. In the last 16 years, the Italians have reached the podium at the World Championships four times (gold medals in 2011 and 2019 and silvers in 2022 and 2024), have won one silver and two bronze medals at the European Championships, four medals in the World League (including the gold in the last-ever edition of the World League in 2022), a silver medal in the 2023 World Cup, and bronze in the 2018 Europa Cup.
The season 2024 started quite successfully for “Settebello”. They won bronze at the European Championships in Zagreb and finished in 2nd place at the World Championships in Doha. Croatia defeated them in a penalty shootout in the World Championships final.
However, Italy lost to Hungary in a controversial quarterfinal match at the Olympic Games in Paris. Francesco Condemi was excluded for a violent foul, and that 4-minute exclusion partially determined the outcome. The Italians were furious because of referees’ decision in the game against Hungary. Due to their behavior and protests in the rest of the Olympic tournament, the Italian team was suspended for six months by World Aquatics.
The Italians weren’t allowed to participate in the 2025 World Cup. Italy arrived at the World Championships with four debutants. It won 1st place in the group stage, ahead of Serbia, but lost to Greece in the quarterfinals. Matteo Iocchi Gratta was excluded for a violent action in that match. However, this time, the 4-minute suspension wasn’t crucial, as Greece played better throughout the game. After that, “Settebello” lost to Montenegro in the 5th-8th place semifinals and beat Team USA in the 7th-place match.
