Italy flop, Leonardo Bonucci does not resign: explanation arrives

Leonardo Bonucci retained his post as assistant coach of the Italian national team even after Italy’s failure in the World Cup playoffs. While Gabriele Gravina, Gennaro Gattuso, and Gianluigi Buffon have resigned, the former Juventus defender has remained in his post, arousing the astonishment and indignation of many Azzurri fans, who were also angered by his silence after the national team’s devastating defeat in Zenica.

According to La Repubblica, the explanation is related to the exclusively technical and training nature of his current position within the FIGC. Unlike political leaders and front-line technical staff, the former Juventus center back is placed on an internship path within Club Italia, which began in October 2024. In this role, Bonucci is assigned from time to time to the various Azzurri selections (from the Under 20 up to the senior national team) depending on the organizational needs of the moment.

His stay is therefore closely linked to the obligation to accumulate the internship hours necessary to complete the Coverciano Master’s degree and obtain the UEFA Pro license. Precisely for this reason, his position is effectively unrelated to the political changes and resignations that have affected the presidency and the bench of the national team.

Leonardo Bonucci has a contract that expires on June 30, and his recruitment has very little economic impact on federal finances. For these reasons, his role is not automatically involved in the collective resignation. Therefore, it will be up to the new course of the federation to decide, once his qualification is completed, whether to include him permanently in the technical staff or not. Much will probably depend on the future technical commissioner, who according to rumors could be one of Antonio Conte (with whom he has worked in the past), Massimiliano Allegri (ditto) and Roberto Mancini (his former coach).