Italy’s football federation appointed Roberto Mancini as head coach on Tuesday for a second spell in charge of the national team, with Claudio Ranieri named as technical director, FIGC President Giovanni Malagò announced.
The decision follows a chaotic 17-day period in which the federation’s previous technical director, Paolo Maldini, resigned only 16 days into the job after his preferred coaching candidate, Andrea Pirlo, was ruled out over commercial ties to a Russian betting company.
Malagò confirmed the appointments after a meeting of the Federal Council. He said he had concluded that Mancini was the right person for the head coach role, and that he wanted someone to share in the decision, which led to Ranieri’s appointment as technical director.
Mancini, 61, returns to a position he held from 2018 to 2023, when he led Italy to the European Championship title in 2021. He resigned in August 2023 and took over as head coach of Saudi Arabia weeks later, before later managing Qatari club Al Sadd.
Roberto Mancini è il nuovo Commissario Tecnico della Nazionale 🇮🇹💙#Nazionale #Azzurri #VivoAzzurro pic.twitter.com/PioBpZX6TS
— Nazionale Italiana ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@Azzurri) July 28, 2026
He replaces Gennaro Gattuso, who left the post in April after Italy suffered a World Cup qualifying defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina, the third consecutive cycle in which the four-time world champions have failed to reach football’s biggest tournament.
A turbulent search
The appointment brings an end to weeks of upheaval at the FIGC. Maldini had been unveiled as the federation’s first-ever technical director on July 12, alongside former AC Milan teammate Leonardo as special advisor, with the pair reportedly in talks with Pep Guardiola over the head coach role. Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti had both been linked with the position before turning it down.
Attention then shifted to Andrea Pirlo, currently head coach of UAE club Dubai United, but his candidacy was blocked after reports emerged of his role as a global brand ambassador for Fonbet, a Russian betting firm. Maldini and Leonardo resigned on Monday shortly afterward.
Malagò said he had been unaware of Pirlo’s association with Fonbet, and that once the issue came to light, the search for a coach effectively restarted. He described the departures of Maldini and Leonardo as amicable and free of conflict.
Ranieri’s return
Ranieri, 74, takes on the technical director role and will also serve as president of Club Italia. He had left Roma earlier in the year following disagreements with head coach Gian Piero Gasperini, and had briefly returned to the Roma dugout in November 2024 after initially retiring from coaching.
According to reports, Ranieri had turned down a call-up to a national team role previously due to his commitments at Roma.
What happens next
Mancini and Ranieri are expected to be formally presented together, with the FIGC also planning to name a separate director within the coming week to oversee coordination of Italy’s youth national teams alongside Maurizio Viscidi.
Mancini will take charge of an Italy squad aiming to end a run of three consecutive missed World Cups, with his first fixtures as coach expected to be confirmed once the federation finalises the backroom appointments.
