Roberto Mancini has been reappointed as Italy head coach, exactly three years after he walked away from the role, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) announced on Tuesday. Claudio Ranieri, the 74-year-old veteran manager who led Leicester City to the Premier League title in 2016, joins as the new technical director of Club Italia.
FIGC President Giovanni Malagò confirmed the appointments during a press conference, revealing that the decision came after a turbulent 17-day period that saw the rapid rise and fall of the Paolo Maldini-Leonardo project. Maldini had been named technical director only on July 12, with former AC Milan teammate Leonardo as his special advisor, but both resigned on Monday after their chosen coaching candidate, Andrea Pirlo, was blocked due to concerns over his sponsorship contract with a Russian betting company.
"Time was running out… I believed the person who should become the new coach of Italy is Roberto Mancini, for a whole list of reasons," Malagò said. "There will be a press conference tomorrow with both Claudio Ranieri and Roberto Mancini."
Mancini previously led Italy from 2018 to 2023, orchestrating a remarkable revival that included winning Euro 2020 at Wembley and setting a world-record 37-match unbeaten run between 2018 and 2021. However, his first spell also ended in disappointment, as Italy failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup after a shock playoff defeat to North Macedonia.
The 61-year-old resigned abruptly in August 2023 to take over Saudi Arabia's national team, left that post in 2024, and most recently coached Al-Sadd in Qatar before departing last month.
Italy's national team is in its deepest crisis in decades after failing to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup. Gennaro Gattuso and FIGC president Gabriele Gravina resigned in April following a playoff defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Azzurri now face a daunting Nations League group featuring Belgium, Turkey, and France in September and October, with Mancini having only two training sessions to prepare for the first match.
Ranieri, who had previously turned down the Italy head coach role last year, left his most recent post as a special advisor at Roma in April. He now takes on the task of rebuilding Club Italia's entire technical structure.
Sources
- https://apnews.com/article/mancini-italy-coach-a75fbacc197196310d7d1add74661bef
- https://football-italia.net/official-italy-appoint-mancini-coach-ranieri/
