by the Sports Editor
The coach resigned, confirmed by the Football Federation: «The name of the new coach will be announced in the next few days». Now the favorite is Luciano Spalletti
Roberto Mancini is no longer coach of the national football team: he presented his resignation to the president of the FIGC Gabriele Gravina last night. A piece of news that took the number 1 of Italian football by surprise, who will now have to immediately think about a substitute: the big favorite has now become Luciano Spalletti, who is still after his farewell to Napoli, the Federation is working in this direction, also with the president De Laurentiis. The Tuscan coach has postponed a vacation he had planned these days to possibly be available should a call arrive. The other names circulating are those of Antonio Conte, currently without a bench, for whom it would be a return, and then detached Fabio Cannavaro and Daniele De Rossi.
Mancini’s post: «Personal choice»
The reasons for Mancini’s decision are not yet known, and he made a post in the afternoon without providing any explanations: «My resignation as coach of the national team was my personal choice. I thank the president Gabriele Gravina for his trust, together with all the members of the FIGC. I greet and thank all my players and fans who have accompanied me in these 5 years. I will always carry the extraordinary victory of the 2020 European Championship in my heart».
The press release from the Football Federation
Before Mancini, it was the Federcalcio that confirmed the news with a statement that appeared on the website: «The Italian Football Federation announces that it has taken note of the resignation of Roberto Mancini from the position of coach of the Italian national team, received yesterday late in the evening. Thus concludes a significant page in the history of the Azzurri, which began in May 2018 and concluded with the 2023 Nations League Finals; in between, the victory at Euro 2020, a triumph conquered by a group in which all the individuals have been able to become a team. Taking into account the important and close commitments for the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers (10 and 12 September with North Macedonia and Ukraine), the FIGC will announce the name of the new national coach in the next few days».
As mentioned, the European Championships won in 2021 were the high point of Mancini’s mandate, who then had to suffer the disappointment of Italy’s exclusion from the World Cup (the second in a row). The FIGC had defended him in that circumstance and Mancini seemed to restart with enthusiasm: he had been placed at the center of the restart of Italian football, so much so that he was appointed coordinator of all the national teams, including the Under 21s and Under 20s, only on 3 August last. a project that had a span of four years. Also from here comes the surprise of the Federation at the communication of the decision.
Why he resigned
It is true that those close to the coach had registered a bit of tiredness and nervousness — some think that Mancini too is tempted by the sirens of Saudi Arabia, some who have taken certain decisions wrongly regarding his staff, such as the farewell from Evani —, but not even Gravina, who spoke to him on the phone last night, thought that his resignation would come less than a month from the next, very important, matches, where Italy must score six points to qualify for the European Championships.
August 13, 2023 (change August 13, 2023 | 19:03)
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