The Italian Football Federation is close to returning Roberto Mancini to the position of coach of the first national team, in a move aimed at ending the state of turmoil that the technical staff has witnessed during the recent period, according to what was reported by the Italian newspaper “Tuttosport”.
According to the report, the federation’s decision came after retracting the appointment of Andrea Pirlo to lead the national team, a step that caused a series of developments within the federation, most notably the resignation of Paolo Maldini and Leonardo, which prompted officials to search for a solution that would restore stability. Quickly.
Mancini has a distinguished record with the Italian national team, after he led it to win the 2020 European Nations Cup, which was held in 2021, after defeating England on penalties in the final at Wembley Stadium. However, his period also witnessed the failure to qualify for the 2022 World Cup finals after losing to North Macedonia in the European playoff.
The report indicated that the Italian Federation had also decided to appoint Claudio Ranieri as the technical director of the team, although his name was not on the table during the last meeting of officials.
Ranieri had previously rejected an offer from the Federation’s president, Gabriele Gravina, to take over as coach of the national team following the departure of Luciano. Spalletti, in an attempt to save Italy's journey towards qualifying for the World Cup, before hopes were dashed after the loss to Bosnia.
These moves reflect the Italian Federation's desire to restore stability to the national team, by bringing in Mancini again, in the hope of restoring positive results and opening a new page after the difficult period that Italian football went through.