The Italian Football Federation announced the coach of the first national team after a state of instability that the Azzurri witnessed during the past period.
After Gennaro Gattuso's departure from coaching the Italy national team following the failure to qualify for the 2026 World Cup for the third consecutive time, the duo of Paolo Maldini and Leonardo Di Araujo took over the management of the football file at the Italian Football Federation.
Paolo Maldini sought to sign Pep Guardiola, but he refused and asked to complete his rest period, and when he negotiated with Ancelotti, the Brazil coach, he also refused.
He settled on appointing Andrea Pirlo to coach the team, but parliamentary voices demanded not to contract with him due to his cooperation with a Russian betting company.
Due to Giovanni Malago, president of the Italian Football Federation, refusing to appoint Andrea Pirlo, the duo Paolo Maldini and Leonardo Di Araujo submitted their resignations.
The president of the Italian Football Federation announced the appointment of Roberto Mancini as the new technical director of the national team, succeeding Gattuso.
This is the Italian coach's second term after leading the Azzurri between 2018 and 2023.
Read also | Pirlo breaks his silence regarding his exclusion from coaching the Italy national team
Malago said, in statements reported by the newspaper "AS": "The negative reactions to Pirlo's nomination led to the withdrawal of my approval of him, simply based on my assessment of his suitability for this position."
He added: "I regret that someone has somewhat distorted the situation; there are no other explanations or facts. I was not aware at all of Pirlo's cooperation with the Fonbet company."
He continued: "From a legal standpoint, there was nothing preventing the termination of the contract, but that was not appropriate. There was no disagreement or controversy with Maldini and Leonardo, and with all due respect, as is the case in the best families, a calm and completely respectful discussion took place."
He affirmed: "I can only thank them; I spent more time with them in video conferences than with anyone else during the past 15 days. They were noble, frank, and honest about their position, and as for me, my position was equally frank and clear."
Regarding Mancini's appointment, he explained: "I consider Mancini the most suitable person to coach the national team, while Claudio Ranieri recently agreed to take on the position of technical director of the federation and affirmed his commitment."
He concluded: "I intend to appoint a third person before the end of the week; this person will assume responsibility for the national teams and oversee the coordination of the youth teams. We will hold a press conference tomorrow, Wednesday, with Mancini and Ranieri."
