Read for 2 minutes28 Jul 2026 10:01 PM IST
Roberto Mancini is back for a second spell as Italy manager while Claudio Ranieri will be technical director, the country’s football president told reporters on Tuesday. Mancini replaces Gennaro Gattuso, who left in April after Italy failed to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, marking the third time in a row that the four-time champions had failed to qualify for the marquee tournament.
“Mancini is the coach,” Italian Football Federation (FIGC) president Giovanni Malago said before confirming the decision at a press conference. “I believed the best person to be the head coach was Roberto Mancini,” Malago told reporters.
Mancini, who has 36 caps for Italy during his playing career, previously managed the team from 2018 to 2023, when they failed to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1958 under Gian Piero Ventura. Italy then failed to qualify again under Mancini for the 2022 tournament. Mancini has managed Inter Milan, Fiorentina and Manchester City at club level, where he spent three years and won their first Premier League title in 2011–12.
Former FIGC technical director Paolo Maldini and adviser Leonardo resigned from their roles on Monday, after their primary candidate for Italy coach, Andrea Pirlo, was blocked by his appointment due to his ties to a Russian betting firm. Former Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, who was the FIGC’s first choice to take charge of the national team, turned down the job this month.
Meanwhile, Ranieri previously called off his retirement to return as Roma coach in November 2024. He later took up a senior adviser role at the club, which he left in April this year. Ranieri enjoyed a long managerial career that began in 1986. In 2016, he led Leicester City to the Premier League title.
Ranieri will replace Maldini as FIGC technical director. “I needed someone with whom I could share the coach’s judgment, because without that shared point of view my reasoning would have had little weight,” Malago said. “So, today we have a new coach and a new technical director for Italy.”