Roberto Mancini waves goodbye to the Azzurri with Luciano Spalletti, Max Allegri and Antonio Conte all linked to the vacant Italy position.
FLORENCE, ITALY – MAY 15: Head coach Italy Roberto Mancini poses for a photo prior to the press … [+]
Euro 2020 winner Roberto Mancini has stepped down as Italy boss after officially handing in his resignation to the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) on Sunday. Departing ten months before next year’s European Championships, the motives for his decision have not yet been made public. A decision on his replacement will be made in the coming days.
A statement by the FIGC read: “The Italian Football Federation can announce that it has accepted the resignation of Roberto Mancini as Head Coach of the Italian national team, received late yesterday evening.
Thus concludes a significant page in the history of the Azzurri, which began in May 2018 and finished with the 2023 Nations League Finals, with victory at Euro 2020 in between, a triumph achieved by a group of players in which each member came together to form a team.”
“Given the important upcoming UEFA
EFA
Mancini’s five-year tenure hit extreme highs and lows, steering Italy to success at the delayed European Championship in 2021 after defeating England on penalties at Wembley in the final, but subsequently failing to qualify for last year’s World Cup in Qatar. With Italy sitting in third position of their Euro 2024 qualifying group, the announcement comes as a complete shock to Azzurri fans.
Il Mancio took the Italy job in 2018 from previous coach Gian Piero Ventura following the four-time world champion’s failure to qualify for FIFA 2018 in Russia – the first time the Nazionale had missed a World Cup finals since 1958. The former Manchester City manager led the Italian national team to a world-record run of 37 matches without defeat between 2018 and 2021, a record that still stands courtesy of Argentina’s FIFA 2022 loss to Saudi Arabia in Qatar.
Destination Unknown?
Critics are expecting Mancini, who had a year left on his current deal, to head to the Middle East. According to speculative reports by Corriere della Sera, Mancini’s motive to quit the Italy job may be a lucrative offer from the Saudi Arabian Football Federation.
Former Italy national team coach Arrigo Sacchi said he was “sorry” about last night’s shock resignation. “When I heard the news I did not believe it, I am sorry,” Sacchi told ANSA. “That’s all I can say,” added the coach who capped Mancini eight times as a player between 1991 and 1994.
According to Sky Italia, the prime candidates to replace Mancini are Max Allegri and Antonio Conte. Allegri’s current employer is Juventus while Antonio Conte is without a club after departing Tottenham in March. It would be Conte’s second spell in charge after his 25-game tenure with Italy from 2014-2016. U21’s coach Carmine Nunziata could be a temporary solution.
Aside from leading Italy to glory in 2021 alongside former teammates Gianluca Vialli and Attilio Lombardo, Mancini took the national team through to the 2021 and 2023 UEFA Nations League semi-finals and was named the 2021 IFFHS World’s Best National Coach. Despite the failed 2022 World Cup qualification bid, Mancini won 37 of 61 international matches, losing just nine times for an impressive win percentage of 60.66%.
LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 11: (EDITORS NOTE: Image has been digitally retouched) Gianluca Vialli, … [+]
Euro 2024 qualifiers in Group C resume on September 9th with Italy travelling to the Arena Toše Proeski in Skopje to face North Macedonia, the nation that eliminated Mancini’s side in the 2022 FIFA World Cup knockout tie in Palermo.
Luciano Spalletti is another name linked with the vacant Italy job after leading Napoli to their first Serie A title for 33 years last season.