Chaos at the Italian National Team—What Happens Next: A Surprise Solution for the New Head Coach. Capello Lashes Out at Mancini
These are crucial days for the future of Italian soccer. Following the definitive rejection of Andrea Pirlo, technical director Paolo Maldini and his advisor Leonardo have resigned, forcing the FIGC and President Giovanni Malagò to start completely from scratch in appointing a new head coach. The Milan legend wanted carte blanche to revolutionize Italian soccer, but as soon as she realized she would instead have limited power, she backed out.
The Federal Council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday and is already set to be decisive. Malagò is in a hurry to resolve the situation after weeks of wasted time, and as far as the head coach is concerned, he has a clear name in mind: Roberto Mancini, who has always been the federation president’s top choice. The alternative to Mancini is Antonio Conte, while the Thiago Motta option has been ruled out. There’s also a scramble for the technical director role: following Maldini’s departure, names such as Giorgio Chiellini, Demetrio Albertini, Claudio Ranieri, Gianfranco Zola, and Beppe Bergomi are being mentioned.
Fabio Capello told *La Gazzetta dello Sport* that the chaos engulfing the soccer world is drastic: “In my opinion, it’s clear that, in order to avoid accepting Pirlo as the national team coach, they went to great lengths to find things against him. Would I have liked him for the job? Yes, he would have been a fresh choice. He didn’t do a bad job at Juventus, but people forgot that right away. Plus, he’d already had some experience elsewhere, and it would have been something different. For example, Spain hired Luis de la Fuente, who sparked some skepticism at home when he was appointed, but then he went on to win a European Championship and a World Cup. In short: by exploring new paths, there’s a chance we can pull off something different. Otherwise, we’re going backward. They sought out these other paths, and now they’re taking the shortcut back to the same old road.”
On Maldini and Leonardo’s departure: “They don’t need to be in the spotlight: they had accepted the roles after being assured of their independence in decision-making, so knowing them, their resignations seem perfectly normal to me. They would have forged a new, different path, outside the usual norms.”
According to Capello, the right coach now is Antonio Conte: “He’s an excellent coach. During his two-year tenure, he did what’s expected of a national team coach, and he always does so by delivering results. Just as José Mourinho said that at Real Madrid the only thing that matters is winning, the same goes for him: the only thing that matters with Italy is winning.” Mancini was flatly rejected: “For me, there’s only one person who could take over the national team, because it seems unbelievable to me that Mancini could return to the Azzurri bench after leaving it the way he did. How can you leave the national team for no reason just to go make money in Saudi Arabia? Mind you, I’m not questioning Mancini’s ability as a coach, but what he did, in my opinion, is very serious.”
