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Roberto Mancini has again been tasked with revitalizing an Italian team in crisis, almost exactly three years after he quit the national team.
Italian FA president Giovanni Malagò announced Mancini as Italy’s new coach on Tuesday, adding that Claudio Ranieri would become the new technical director after Paolo Maldini stepped down the day before – just 16 days after being appointed.
“Time was running out… I thought the person who was going to be the new coach of Italy is Roberto Mancini, for a lot of reasons,” Malagò said. “There will be a press conference tomorrow with both Claudio Ranieri and Roberto Mancini.”
Mancini, 61, led the Azzurri to the 2021 European Championship title, but shockingly resigned as Italy coach in August 2023 and took charge of the Saudi Arabia national team two weeks later.
“Obviously all the necessary assessments have been made,” Malagò said when asked about Mancini’s sudden departure three years ago. “I’ve certainly taken that into consideration; I’m aware of his recent apologies and of course everyone has made the appropriate evaluations.”
The Italian national team is in crisis after failing to qualify for the World Cup for the third time in a row, leading to the resignation of FIGC president Gabriele Gravina and coach Gennaro Gattuso in April, shortly after the playoff defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Mancini’s first spell
Mancini’s first stint as Italy coach came immediately after the team missed out on the 2018 World Cup after losing to Sweden in a qualifier.
He revived the Azzurri by adding flair and youth to a team that won admirers across the continent at the year-delayed Euro 2020 – beating England at Wembley Stadium in a penalty shoot-out for the trophy.
Between 2018 and 2021, Mancini coached Italy to a world record 37 game unbeaten run.
However, a 1-0 semi-final play-off loss to 67th-ranked North Macedonia at home in 2022 meant the Azzurri missed out on the World Cup again.
Mancini nevertheless retained his post before surprisingly quitting in August 2023. He left Saudi Arabia in 2024 and was most recently coach at Al-Sadd in Qatar before leaving last month.
Mancini also previously managed Inter Milan and Manchester City to league titles.
Ranieri turned down the job last year
Luciano Spalletti replaced Mancini in 2023 but was sacked two years later after Italy lost their opening World Cup qualifier to Norway last year. Ranieri, who famously led unseeded Leicester City to the Premier League title in 2016, turned down an offer to take charge of the Azzurri and Gattuso was hired instead.
Ranieri’s last job was as a special adviser at Roma, having moved into the role after coaching the capital side out of crisis. The 74-year-old left in April after an argument with coach Gian Piero Gasperini.
Pirlo, Guardiola and Ancelotti
The appointment comes a day after Andrea Pirlo was dropped as the leading candidate for the Italy job due to political concerns over a sponsorship deal with a Russian betting firm.
It led to the departure of Maldini and special adviser Leonardo by what Malagò stressed was “mutual consent”.
“Practically speaking, before we even started, we were dealing with a unique situation,” Malagò added. “There was no conflict. With the utmost respect, as in the best families, there was a calm discussion and a clear and calm consensus that it was best to go our separate ways.”
Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti had already turned down offers to coach the Azzurri. Former Italian coach Antonio Conte was also in contention.
Don’t expect instant miracles from Mancini
Italy will next play in September and October, where they will face Belgium, Turkey and France in the Nations League.
“The new coach will have two training sessions to prepare for the first game,” Malagò said. “And since the game against Bosnia, I don’t think we gave a pass to Lamine Yamal, [Kylian] Mbappé and [Harry] Kane.
“Now we have to make the best of what we have, knowing that we are playing in a group with three teams that went to the World Cup, two of which finished in the last eight.”
Report from the Associated Press.
