Roberto Mancini has become Italy’s new head coach as he joins Claudio Ranieri as FIGC technical director.
Mancini replaces Gennaro Gattuso after another disappointing period for the Azzurri which saw them miss out on the World Cup once again.
The 61-year-old Mancini led Italy to the European Championship title in 2021 as they beat England on penalties but resigned as Italy coach in August 2023 in what was a shocking move.
The former Manchester City manager wasn’t the first choice for the role as Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti turned down the chance whilst Andrea Pirlo fell out of the running due to his ties to Russian betting companies.
He joins Ranieri, the iconic figure who led Leicester City to the Premier League title in 2016 despite the side being 2000/1 to win the competition.
FIGC President Malago announced the appointment of Mancini and revealed the importance of such a strong leadership who can help lead Italy back to their former heights.
“Mancini is the coach.” He later elaborated to reporters: “I believed that the best person to become head coach was Roberto Mancini.”
“I needed someone with whom I could share the decision on the coach, because without that shared view my reasoning would have carried little weight. So consequently, today we have a new coach and a new technical director for Italy.”
Paolo Maldini and Leonardo Araujo, the FIGC’s new technical director and strategic advisor quit this week in what has been a turbulant time for the federation who now seem settled on who will lead them forward.
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