Italy is turning back to the coach who delivered Euro 2020 glory, even after his abrupt 2023 exit. The move comes with the national team under pressure after another failed World Cup qualifying campaign.
Roberto Mancini has been hired as Italy manager again, with Italy announcing the appointment on Tuesday through the Italian Football Federation setup. The Euro 2020-winning coach returns to the Italy national team after recent setbacks, including another World Cup qualifying failure, and with Claudio Ranieri set to work above him as technical director.
Mancini won Euro 2020 as Italy’s coach, then left abruptly in 2023. Now the Azzurri are asking him to rebuild a team whose crisis has outlasted several managers, presidents and quick-fix plans.
Mancini gets the rescue call
The decision brings Italy back to a familiar name at an uneasy time. According to CNN, Giovanni Malagò announced Mancini as the new Italy coach on Tuesday and said Ranieri would become the new technical director.
Malagò framed the move as a matter of urgency, saying time was running out and that he believed Mancini was the right person for the job “for a whole list of reasons.” A press conference with Mancini and Ranieri was expected to follow.
The appointment also follows a rapid leadership reshuffle. Paolo Maldini stepped down the previous day, just 16 days after being appointed, while former special adviser Leonardo also departed by what Malagò described as mutual consent.
That is the immediate reason this return feels bigger than a coaching hire. Italy is not simply choosing a lineup or a playing style; it is trying to stop the administrative churn around one of world soccer’s most scrutinized national teams.
Why Italy went back
Mancini’s first spell began after Italy missed the 2018 World Cup, a national embarrassment that demanded a reset. He answered with a bold, younger and more expressive side that restored belief faster than many expected.
The peak was Euro 2020, played in 2021 because of the pandemic. Italy beat England at Wembley Stadium on penalties, a result that turned Mancini into the symbol of the Azzurri’s recovery.
That team also produced a world-record 37-match unbeaten run between 2018 and 2021. For a federation searching for proof of concept, Mancini can point to a recent blueprint that actually worked.
The counterargument is obvious: the same cycle also ended in another World Cup absence. Italy lost a 2022 playoff semifinal at home to North Macedonia, then ranked 67th, and missed the tournament again.
The exit still matters
Mancini’s return is complicated by how he left. He resigned as Italy coach in August 2023, then took over Saudi Arabia’s national team two weeks later.
Malagò said the federation had considered that sudden departure and was aware of Mancini’s recent apologies. He added that “all the necessary assessments” had been made.
That language matters because this is not a clean reunion. Supporters who remember Wembley may also remember the sense of abandonment that followed, especially because Italy’s problems were not solved when Mancini walked away.
Since leaving Italy, Mancini has had a short and uneven path. He left the Saudi Arabia job in 2024 and was most recently coach of Al-Sadd in Qatar before departing last month.
A crisis with many fingerprints
Italy’s latest collapse goes beyond one manager. The national team failed for a third straight time to qualify for the World Cup, according to CNN, after a playoff defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
That result prompted the April resignations of FIGC president Gabriele Gravina and coach Gennaro Gattuso. It also left Italy’s next leadership group trying to act quickly while the public mood around the Azzurri remained sour.
Luciano Spalletti had replaced Mancini in 2023 but was later fired after Italy lost its opening World Cup qualifier to Norway. Ranieri was considered for the top coaching job but turned it down, after which Gattuso was hired.
The search itself became tangled. Andrea Pirlo was reportedly dropped as the leading candidate amid political concerns over a sponsorship deal with a Russian betting firm. Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti had already turned down offers, while Antonio Conte was also in contention.
Ranieri changes the structure
Ranieri’s arrival as technical director gives the move a different shape. At 74, he brings the credibility of a career that includes Leicester City’s astonishing Premier League title in 2016 and a recent rescue act at AS Roma.
His job is not the same as Mancini’s. The technical director role is meant to provide broader oversight, continuity and football judgment above the day-to-day coaching of the national team.
That could help Mancini, but it could also create tension if the chain of command is not clear. Italy has already seen how quickly a technical plan can unravel when appointments, politics and results collide.
For now, the federation appears to be pairing two respected Italian figures: one who has already rebuilt the Azzurri on the field, and one known for calm crisis management.
The clock is already short
Mancini will not get a long runway. Italy is scheduled to play in September and October against Belgium, Turkey and France in the UEFA Nations League.
Malagò noted that the new coach would have only two training sessions to prepare for the first game. He also warned that Italy must work with the players it has, joking that the team had not suddenly given passports to Lamine Yamal, Kylian Mbappé or Harry Kane.
That line captured the deeper issue. Italy’s crisis is not just about motivation, nostalgia or the right speech before kickoff. It is about talent identification, attacking quality, player development and the pressure of wearing a shirt that still carries old expectations.
Mancini’s return gives Italy a proven architect and a familiar story to sell. Whether it becomes a second revival or a reminder that the past cannot be replayed will depend on how quickly he and Ranieri turn reputation into results.
Leave a Reply