Roberto Mancini Returns as Italy Head Coach Amid Structural Changes
Roberto Mancini is back in charge of Italy. Again.
The president of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), Giovanni Malagò, confirmed on Tuesday that Mancini has agreed to return as head coach of the national team, with Claudio Ranieri appointed as technical director in a sweeping reset at the top of the Azzurri structure.
“Mancini is the coach,” Malagò said, underlining the federation’s belief that the man who delivered Euro 2020 glory remains the best option to steer Italy out of its current malaise. “I believed that the best person to become head coach was Roberto Mancini.”
This is not a nostalgic reunion. It is a rescue mission.
From Wembley High to World Cup Lows
Mancini’s second spell comes barely a year after his first tenure ended in disappointment. Between 2018 and 2023 he rebuilt a broken side, restored confidence, and led Italy to the European Championship title in 2021, beating England on penalties at Wembley in a night that felt like the rebirth of a giant.
That triumph, though, was followed by a brutal crash.
Italy failed to reach the 2022 World Cup, a second successive absence from the tournament, and then stumbled again with a sluggish start to Euro 2024 qualifying. The glow of Wembley faded quickly; the questions did not.
Mancini’s record from his first stint reads 58 matches in charge of the national team, a body of work that mixed long unbeaten runs and bold attacking football with those unforgivable lapses in qualification. His club pedigree remains formidable: Inter, Fiorentina, and a transformative spell at Manchester City, where he delivered the club’s first Premier League title in the 2011–12 season.
That blend of international and elite club experience is what FIGC is banking on again.
Gattuso Out, Turmoil Behind the Scenes
Mancini replaces Gennaro Gattuso, who left the role in April after Italy failed to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup. The decision to turn back to Mancini comes against a backdrop of political and structural turbulence inside the federation.
On Monday, former FIGC technical director Paolo Maldini and his adviser, Leonardo, resigned. Their departure followed the collapse of Andrea Pirlo’s proposed appointment as head coach, which was blocked because of the former midfielder’s ties to a Russian betting firm.
The fallout was swift. With Pirlo ruled out and Maldini and Leonardo walking away, FIGC’s carefully laid succession plan disintegrated. The federation had already been stung by rejection: Pep Guardiola, their first choice for the job, turned it down last month.
So the federation circled back to the man it knew best.
Ranieri’s Role and the Rebuild Ahead
Alongside Mancini’s return, Claudio Ranieri steps in as technical director, a role that places him at the heart of Italy’s long-term sporting strategy. His appointment signals a desire for experience, calm, and structure after months of upheaval.
Ranieri, a veteran of dugouts across Europe, will shape the broader technical vision while Mancini focuses on repairing a team that has lost its way on the biggest stages.
Italy now stands at a crossroads: a coach restored, a new technical director installed, a federation reshuffled, and a fan base demanding that Wembley’s echoes become a blueprint, not a one-off memory.
The question is no longer whether Mancini is the right man. FIGC has made that call. The question is whether he can drag Italy back to the World Cup stage it has watched from afar for far too long.
