Italy: Roberto Mancini Returns—His Apology for His 2023 Departure
Roberto Mancini returns as head coach of Italy, following the 2021 European Championship victory, the missed 2022 World Cup, and—above all—his departure in 2023 to take the helm of the Saudi Arabian national team less than a month later. The coach from the Marche region reflected on this turning point in his career on Wednesday during a press conference at the FIGC headquarters. He did not shy away from self-criticism regarding what happened at the time.
“I think there was a lack of communication between me and Gravina back then. Everything would have been different if we’d talked face-to-face. But in the end, that’s how it went, and I’m truly very sorry for what happened,” Mancini said. “I’m in love with the national team jersey; I feel like I’ve lost the love of my life after making a mistake. I’m truly sorry about that, but now fate and President Malagò have given me the chance to redeem myself. I want to bring Italy back to where it belongs.”
“I signed a four-year contract. During this time, I hope to win one or two major trophies,” added Mancini. He then clarified regarding his new contract with Italy: “I want to stay even beyond four years. I’ve already cleared everything up with Gravina; the responsibility for the events of 2023 lies entirely with me. If we’d talked it through, what happened wouldn’t have happened.” And regarding the new national team he’s since reunited with, the head coach added: “Back then, the atmosphere was more relaxed, but the pressure is always there. In our country, there are talented young players; we just need to give them confidence and the chance to play. And a coach must adapt to the players at his disposal—you don’t start with the playing system. You start with the players. And we’ll play based on the characteristics of the players who join us.”
Alongside Mancini, in the new federation structure envisioned by Giovanni Malagò, Claudio Ranieri will serve in the dual role of technical director of the national team and president of Club Italia. The Testaccio-born coach, who a year ago turned down the call to coach the Azzurri so as not to terminate his contract with Roma—“my favorite team,” he explained—has called this new appointment “the true crowning achievement of my career.” The division of responsibilities with Mancini has already been clearly outlined: “Roberto will handle matters on the field; I’ll handle what happens off the field. If he needs to ask me for advice, he can do so,” Ranieri clarified, before summarizing his two fundamental missions: “To make Italians fall in love with soccer again and to bring children back to watch the national team at the World Cup.”
This new direction, however, is not emerging in a peaceful climate. According to reports in *La Gazzetta dello Sport*, Serie A clubs are deeply dissatisfied with the direction taken by the Malagò administration: the club presidents had identified Antonio Conte as the ideal candidate to revitalize the national team, and the choice of Mancini was perceived as an imposition handed down from above. A joke circulating on the sidelines of the Federal Council meeting is telling: “Introducing the National Team, North Rome Branch,” a reference to the friendship between Malagò and the new head coach. There is even talk of a possible motion of no confidence against the FIGC president should the situation deteriorate further. This situation is, in part, reminiscent of the precedent set by Marcello Lippi, who returned to the Azzurri bench in July 2008 following the 2006 World Cup triumph, only to disappoint with the team’s first-round elimination at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
There is no shortage of supportive voices, however. Cesc Fabregas, coach of Como, has stood out as one of the few insiders to publicly speak out in defense of the decision: “Mancini is an honest and successful person; he has won many trophies, and his teams play attacking soccer. I really admired the 2021 European champion Italian team, and I’m glad he’s back. We club coaches will certainly help him; I’m not interested in what happened three years ago.” Andrea Mancini, the head coach’s son and sporting director of Cesena, is on the same page; he explained his father’s underlying motivations to *Corriere della Sera*: “He’s coming in highly motivated. He wants to erase the disappointment of those three failed qualifiers. And there’s another factor: he wants to restore the image of his departure from the Italian national team.”
On the field, the first test will be the Nations League: Italy is in Group 1 of League A alongside France, Belgium, and Turkey, with its debut set for September 25 against Belgium. It’s a demanding schedule that leaves no room for error for a national team called upon to rediscover its identity and consistency. The statistics from Mancini’s first tenure, however, remain a solid benchmark: with a 60.66% win rate, he ranks fourth in the all-time standings of head coaches with at least twenty matches in charge, and he is the only coach to have won more medals in official FIFA and UEFA competitions at the helm of the Azzurri, with a total of four podium finishes: gold at Euro 2020, two bronze medals in the Nations League, and silver in the 2022 Finalissima against Argentina. These numbers—pending the results on the field—are the best response to the recent controversies.
