Roberto Mancini returns as Italy boss five years after guiding them to Euro 2020 win
The 61-year-old former Manchester City boss stood down in 2023 but has returned for a second spell
Italy have re-appointed Roberto Mancini as their new head coach.
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The 61-year-old led his country to the European Championship after beating England in the final in 2021 and the announcement concludes a turbulent 24 hours for the country’s football federation.
Italy were seeking a replacement for Gennaro Gattuso, who left the role in April following the nation’s latest failure to qualify for the World Cup.
Andrea Pirlo had been favourite after Pep Guardiola declined the role but the former midfielder announced on Monday he was no longer in contention amid controversy over his links to a Russian betting firm.
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That led newly-appointed technical director Paolo Maldini and his adviser Leonardo to leave only days into their roles, with FIGC president Giovanni Malago announcing on Tuesday that Claudio Ranieri would succeed Maldini alongside Mancini coming in as head coach.
Mancini had a five-year stint as head coach of Italy between 2018 and 2023, and despite winning the Euros, he failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup.
He subsequently took charge of the Saudi Arabia national team and most recently managed Al-Sadd in Qatar.
Pirlo’s role as a global ambassador for Russian bookmaker Fonbet had prompted objections to his potential appointment from some FIGC officials and politicians due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Pirlo, a World Cup winner with Italy in 2006, defended his involvement with the company in an Instagram post, writing: "During my career, first as a football player and now as a coach, I have always carried out my activity in full respect to the laws of the countries I worked in and the contracts I signed.
"To attribute a political meaning to such a collaboration means to attribute convictions that I have never expressed and that do not belong to me."