CT Italia: Giovanni Malagò Sets the Course

On the day of his election as head of the FIGC, Giovanni Malagò addressed reporters on what was inevitably the hottest topic of his first days as the top official in Italian soccer: the selection of the national team’s new head coach. The new president put the brakes on any premature speculation, making it clear that the process has only just begun: “I haven’t spoken to anyone. Now we’ll start thinking it through: we’ll need to analyze the financial statements and make concrete assessments.”

Malagò then outlined the approach that will guide the selection: “Mine was an act of love, a lucid folly. It wasn’t my idea; I was drawn into it. Whoever coaches the national team, regardless of their resume, will have to embrace the project in its entirety: you can’t just say ‘get ready and go’; we need a clear path for everyone.”

No comment, therefore, on the rumors suggesting a possible return of Roberto Mancini, who left in the summer of 2023 amid a public falling-out with then-president Gabriele Gravina. According to reports in the *Corriere dello Sport*, some “big names” in the Azzurri locker room have already pushed for his return, but only in the coming days will it become clear whether Mancini’s return is a possibility that could actually materialize.

Born in 1964, he was a player who made his mark while playing for Bologna, Sampdoria, and Lazio (as well as, for a very brief period at the end of his career, Leicester), Roberto Mancini coached the national team from 2018 to 2023, winning the European Championship held in the summer of 2021. His tenure with the Azzurri derailed after the team failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup: Mancini stayed on for another year before his abrupt departure. The door has now reopened, and in the coming days we’ll find out if it’s actually for the Jesi-born coach.