Roberto Mancini is the national team coach, Claudio Ranieri the technical director . They are the men called upon to revive Italian football, or at least bring it back to the World Cup after three failed editions. This was announced by FIGC president Giovanni Malagò at the end of the Federal Council meeting.

"Time was running out, and I felt Mancini was the right person," Malagò said at a press conference after announcing his choices to the Board. "I needed someone to share the coach's decision, because if he hadn't been chosen, my reasoning would have been meaningless. We needed someone to become the technical director and president of Club Italia. The person with whom these decisions were shared is Claudio Ranieri, who just a few minutes ago assured me of his commitment and is arriving from Calabria ."

Tomorrow at 6:00 PM, Mancini and Ranieri will officially present their teams at a press conference. Malagò declined to provide contract figures , but said that "the financial resources of both parties are positive, once they sit down at the table."

Ranieri, Cagliari's former miracle coach, refused a call-up to the national team last year because he had a role in Roma's management, an experience that later ended following disagreements with coach Gian Piero Gasperini.

For Roberto Mancini, however, it's a return to the Azzurri: after the triumphant 2021 European Championships and the dramatic exclusion from the 2022 World Cup, he hastily left the national team to settle in Saudi Arabia . A hasty departure that sparked controversy, was seen as a betrayal by many and even drew criticism from Ranieri himself ("I would never have gone to Saudi Arabia, I still like having incentives other than money") . Mancini received a huge contract (€25 million a year) to coach the Saudi national team, but the sporting experience was disappointing: it ended after just over a year with a mutually agreed termination of the contract and less than satisfactory results.

That episode, Malagò said, was taken into consideration: " Roberto's apologies were important. They are a prerequisite for tomorrow's conference . It's clear that all possible assessments have been made."

The Pirlo case

Malagò also returned to the mess of recent days, confirming that the suspension of Andrea Pirlo came for "political" rather than sporting reasons: "An agreement had been reached on Pirlo," he said, "then the evolution of the situation led me to no longer approve this candidacy. It was an assessment of opportunity," he added, emphasizing that the separation with Maldini was "without controversy."

"I take responsibility for having stopped the process of selecting Andrea Pirlo. He would have terminated his contract with this club he was a spokesperson for, but for a whole series of reasons and opportunities, I didn't feel like it, " Malagò added. "Neither I nor, it seems, the technical director knew about the Russian contract."

On his relationships with Maldini and Leonardo: "Paolo and Leo were gentlemen, frank, sincere, and honest. And I, too, if I may say so, was equally frank."

Zola in the youth team?

"I expect to give you news by the end of the week about a third person coming on board: he'll be the national team manager, taking over the role held by Gigi Riva years ago ," Malagò added. "I'd like to assign him coordination of the youth national teams , currently led by Viscidi, who's staying with us. It will be the culmination of a process of selection that the federal council unanimously agreed upon. " Could it be Zola? "He's one of the possible names," Malagò replied.

(Unioneonline/L)

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