Mancini Returns as Italy Coach After Chaotic Search
The FIGC have turned full circle. After weeks of missteps, internal friction and a dramatic late veto, Roberto Mancini is back as head coach of the Azzurri.
His return, confirmed via an official FIGC social media announcement, restores a familiar figure to the Italy dugout after Gennaro Gattuso’s abrupt resignation in April and a chaotic hunt for his successor. Sky Italia report that Mancini will be formally presented on Wednesday, sealing a rapid comeback to the international stage just a month after leaving Qatari side Al-Sadd and following his recent stint in charge of Saudi Arabia.
From Pirlo Blocked to Mancini Recalled
What should have been a straightforward appointment process instead exposed deep fault lines inside the federation.
Andrea Pirlo had been lined up, only for FIGC president Giovanni Malagò to block the move at the eleventh hour. The trigger: Pirlo’s ambassadorial role with a Russian betting company, a connection Malagò deemed incompatible with the image and direction of the national team.
The fallout was immediate and brutal. Technical director Paolo Maldini and adviser Leonardo, both barely over two weeks into their posts, resigned on the spot. Sixteen days in the job, and gone. The search for a coach, already tense, lurched into outright crisis.
Negotiations with several primary targets stalled or collapsed. Time drained away. The federation needed a solution, and quickly.
So they went back to a man they knew.
Malagò Turns to a Proven Operator
Facing the media on Tuesday, Malagò laid out why the FIGC had returned to Mancini.
“Time was running out and I thought the right person to be coach was Roberto Mancini. He's the best possible choice,” he said, underlining both the urgency of the situation and his conviction in the appointment.
Mancini’s profile fits the emergency. He knows the Italian environment, understands the pressure of the Azzurri job and arrives with recent international experience. After leaving Al-Sadd last month and having already navigated the demands of managing Saudi Arabia, he steps back into a role where scrutiny never sleeps.
This is not a gamble on potential. It is a move for a seasoned operator in a moment of instability.
Ranieri Joins the New Power Structure
The reshaping of Italy’s technical setup does not end with Mancini. Malagò also confirmed that Claudio Ranieri, the veteran coach whose crowning achievement came with Leicester City’s extraordinary Premier League title, will join as technical director.
“The role of technical director, not to be confused with other roles, has not disappeared,” Malagò stressed. He revealed that an amendment to the FIGC statute had been approved, allowing another figure to also serve as president of Club Italia, the body overseeing the national teams.
“I needed someone to share the choice of Roberto Mancini as coach, and that person is Claudio Ranieri, who signed his commitment a few minutes ago,” Malagò added.
Ranieri’s arrival offers ballast. While Maldini and Leonardo walked away in protest, the federation has responded by anchoring its new project to two of the most experienced Italian coaches of their generation. Mancini on the touchline, Ranieri in the technical command room: a double act built on decades in the game.
A Reset After Chaos
The backdrop to Mancini’s return is anything but serene. Gattuso’s resignation, the Pirlo U-turn, the public clash over ethics and image, the high-profile resignations inside Club Italia – all of it has played out in full view and left the FIGC under pressure to show control.
By turning to Mancini and Ranieri, Malagò has chosen stability over experimentation. The federation has put its faith in familiarity, reputation and know-how rather than a bold new face.
Now comes the real test. Can Mancini, backed by Ranieri’s experience and a hastily restructured hierarchy, turn a messy appointment saga into the starting point for a new, coherent cycle for the Azzurri?
