Roberto Mancini has been named Italy manager for a second time, just a day after Andrea Pirlo ruled himself out of the running. Pirlo's withdrawal followed controversy regarding his connections to a Russian betting company.
Italian Football Federation (FIGC) president Giovanni Malago stated, "I believed that the best person to become head coach was Roberto Mancini." Claudio Ranieri, who famously led Leicester City to the Premier League title, will take over from Paolo Maldini as technical director. Maldini and adviser Leonardo resigned after the decision not to appoint Pirlo.
Mancini, 61, previously managed Italy from 2018 to 2023, during which he guided the Azzurri to Euro 2020 glory. Despite a world record 37-game unbeaten run, Italy failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup under his previous tenure. Gennaro Gattuso, the previous Italy boss, left his role in April after the team missed out on a third successive World Cup.
Italy will commence their Nations League campaign on 25 September at home against Belgium, before travelling to face Turkey three days later.