Mancini returns as Italy head coach

Malagò confirms the appointment following the resignations of Paolo Maldini and Leonardo, with Claudio Ranieri set to take on a new technical director role. Roberto Mancini has been confirmed as the new head coach of the Italy national football team, ending weeks of upheaval at the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) that culminated in the resignation of two of its most senior figures. FIGC president Giovanni Malagò announced the decision to the federal council on Tuesday, bringing to a close a search for Gennaro Gattuso's successor that had descended into open conflict within Italian football's governing bodies. Claudio Ranieri, freed from his previous commitments following his exit from Roma, is expected to be named technical director alongside him. Maldini and Leonardo The appointment follows the resignations of Paolo Maldini and Leonardo, who stepped down from their roles as technical director and advisor after just 16 days in the job. The pair quit after learning that Andrea Pirlo would not, after all, be appointed head coach, with Pirlo himself confirming via social media that he was no longer under consideration. Reports suggested Maldini and Leonardo believed the autonomy they had been promised over technical decisions had proven illusory, and that the matter of Pirlo's Russian sponsorship commitments had been used as a pretext to sideline a candidate who had never fully convinced Malagò. The episode also triggered a sharp public exchange between the FIGC president and Italy's sports minister, Andrea Abodi, over who was responsible for the embarrassing saga. With Pirlo out of the running and Maldini and Leonardo gone, attention turned back to Mancini, long said to be Malagò's preferred candidate, alongside Antonio Conte as the main alternative favoured by some Serie A clubs. Juventus official Giorgio Chiellini, whose name had also circulated for the technical director role, ruled himself out, saying he was happy in his position at the Turin club. Return of Mancini Mancini's return to the Italy dugout marks a remarkable turnaround for a coach who left the role in acrimonious circumstances in 2023 to take charge of Saudi Arabia, a departure for which he later publicly apologised. His first spell in charge of the Azzurri, from 2018 to 2023, included victory at Euro 2020 and a run of 37 matches unbeaten, a national record. As a player, the Jesi-born forward spent the bulk of his career at Sampdoria, making more than 550 appearances and helping the club to its only Serie A title, four Coppa Italia triumphs and the European Cup Winners' Cup. He later joined Lazio, adding a further league title, another Cup Winners' Cup and two more domestic cups, and won 36 caps for Italy, featuring at Euro 1988 and the 1990 World Cup. His managerial career began at Fiorentina in 2001, before spells at Lazio and Inter Milan, where he delivered three consecutive Serie A titles. He went on to manage Manchester City, guiding the club to the FA Cup in 2011 and a first league title in 44 years the following season, before further stints at Galatasaray, Inter again, and Zenit Saint Petersburg ahead of his first appointment with Italy. Mancini is reported to have already turned down four other offers while waiting for the Italy job to be resolved, having left his most recent post in Qatar regardless of the outcome. Photo credit: sbonsi / Shutterstock.com

WIRE — Malagò confirms the appointment following the resignations of Paolo Maldini and Leonardo, with Claudio Ranieri set to take on a new technical director role. Roberto Mancini has been confirmed as the new head coach of the Italy national football team, ending weeks of upheaval at the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) that culminated in the resignation of two of its most senior figures. FIGC president Giovanni Malagò announced the decision to the federal council on Tuesday, bringing to a close a search for Gennaro Gattuso's successor that had descended into open conflict within Italian football's governing bodies. Claudio Ranieri, freed from his previous commitments following his exit from Roma, is expected to be named technical director alongside him. Maldini and Leonardo The appointment follows the resignations of Paolo Maldini and Leonardo, who stepped down from their roles as technical director and advisor after just 16 days in the job. The pair quit after learning that Andrea Pirlo would not, after all, be appointed head coach, with Pirlo himself confirming via social media that he was no longer under consideration. Reports suggested Maldini and Leonardo believed the autonomy they had been promised over technical decisions had proven illusory, and that the matter of Pirlo's Russian sponsorship commitments had been used as a pretext to sideline a candidate who had never fully convinced Malagò. The episode also triggered a sharp public exchange between the FIGC president and Italy's sports minister, Andrea Abodi, over who was responsible for the embarrassing saga. With Pirlo out of the running and Maldini and Leonardo gone, attention turned back to Mancini, long said to be Malagò's preferred candidate, alongside Antonio Conte as the main alternative favoured by some Serie A clubs. Juventus official Giorgio Chiellini, whose name had also circulated for the technical director role, ruled himself out, saying he was happy in his position at the Turin club. Return of Mancini Mancini's return to the Italy dugout marks a remarkable turnaround for a coach who left the role in acrimonious circumstances in 2023 to take charge of Saudi Arabia, a departure for which he later publicly apologised. His first spell in charge of the Azzurri, from 2018 to 2023, included victory at Euro 2020 and a run of 37 matches unbeaten, a national record. As a player, the Jesi-born forward spent the bulk of his career at Sampdoria, making more than 550 appearances and helping the club to its only Serie A title, four Coppa Italia triumphs and the European Cup Winners' Cup. He later joined Lazio, adding a further league title, another Cup Winners' Cup and two more domestic cups, and won 36 caps for Italy, featuring at Euro 1988 and the 1990 World Cup. His managerial career began at Fiorentina in 2001, before spells at Lazio and Inter Milan, where he delivered three consecutive Serie A titles. He went on to manage Manchester City, guiding the club to the FA Cup in 2011 and a first league title in 44 years the following season, before further stints at Galatasaray, Inter again, and Zenit Saint Petersburg ahead of his first appointment with Italy. Mancini is reported to have already turned down four other offers while waiting for the Italy job to be resolved, having left his most recent post in Qatar regardless of the outcome. Photo credit: sbonsi / Shutterstock.com

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