Roberto Mancini has agreed to a second spell as Italy's head coach, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) president, Giovanni Malago, confirmed on Tuesday. This appointment sees Mancini return to the role he held from 2018 to 2023, during which he guided the national team to European Championship success in 2021.
Mancini replaces Gennaro Gattuso, who departed in April after Italy's failure to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup. Malago stated, “Mancini is the coach,” adding, “I believed that the best person to become head coach was Roberto Mancini.”
Alongside Mancini's return, Claudio Ranieri has been appointed as the new technical director, taking over from Paolo Maldini. Ranieri, 74, will oversee technical operations and elite football development across Italy's national team structures. Malago commented, “So consequently, we have a new coach and a new technical director for Italy.”