After the surprising resignation of Roberto Mancini as national coach of European champions Italy, the search for a successor is ongoing. According to Italian media reports, the former Napoli coach, Luciano Spalletti, is the main candidate to succeed Mancini. The sports newspaper “Gazzetta dello Sport” also speculated on Monday that Antonio Conte could also make a comeback as national coach.
Reuters/Ciro De Luca
The 58-year-old Mancini submitted his resignation on Saturday evening after a good five years, as the Italian Football Association (FIGC) announced on Sunday. Mancini himself later described his resignation on Instagram as a “personal decision”. However, Italian media reported a lucrative offer for the coach from Saudi Arabia. Mancini had led Italy to the European Championship title in 2021 and thus celebrated the greatest success with the “Azzurri” since the world championship title in 2006.
Not averse to Napoli’s master coach
Ex-Napoli coach Spalletti only announced that he would take a break after winning the championship title. “I have to take a year off. I’m a bit tired,” he said on Italian television at the time. At the same time he raved about being a national coach. “Coaching a national team would be very appealing,” he said.
Conte, who coached the Italian national team from 2014 to 2016 alongside Juventus, Inter, Chelsea and Tottenham, has been without a contract since leaving Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur at the end of March. The “Gazzetta dello Sport” reported that Conte was very interested in returning to the national team.