National, Mancini resigns, Spalletti becomes the new Italy coach
Il Mancio unloaded the national team with an overnight email. The Tuscan manager has a clause he is exclusively linked with Napoli until January but the FIGC plan to untie the knot. Conte is available as an alternative
– Milan
Another apocalypse for Italian football. Even worse than the previous ones that cost us disqualification from the last two World Cups, because however embarrassing and unjustified it may be, you should never be ashamed of a result on the pitch. However, it’s a balance of merits and demerits, it’s part of the sporting logic. But this is another story. Here is the coach of a national team that has won four World Cups, Roberto Mancini, who suddenly and without explanation resigned from his post two days before mid-August, on one of the most absurd days in football history.
Left-handed pec
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Yesterday morning, Federal President Gabriele Gravina found the chest muscles of his coach from Mykonos among the e-mails that informed him of the decision. They had met the night before to discuss some critical issues, but the word “resignation” had never been mentioned. The night brought no advice. Gravina tried to call Mancini back but failed. At least wrong times and ways. In 26 days, after losing to England, the national team will face Macedonia and three days later Ukraine, thorny matches on the road to the European Championship. In a few days, the pre-registrations must be made for players who can play abroad, for the others until 21/22. Someone else in the Football Association will take care of that.
Cracks in the national team
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Yesterday, late morning, the official press release: “The FIGC takes note of the resignation of Roberto Mancini as coach of the Italian national team.” of the decision, the words: “Retiring as coach of the national team was my personal decision.” Thank you and the usual greetings. “It was an honour.” No later than June 17, Mancini assured in Enschede after the defeat against Spain in the Nations League: “I hear things about myself that have neither meaning nor reason. I stay and am happy. We risk winning the 2026 World Cup”. At the beginning of August, he had accepted the new role of manager of the U20 and U21 national teams and had taken part in the reorganization of the youth national teams. The Football Association assures that the coach fully and “Fully agreed, while dissatisfaction was brewing around the left-handers over the treatment of some staff. Mancini felt a loss of confidence that had come from above with the appointment of Gigi Buffon as head of the delegation. Perhaps the straw that broke the camel’s back. Certainly “Something broke after the apocalyptic defeat against Macedonia. And it couldn’t be otherwise. Back then, his retirement (not only his) would have been more understandable. The Euro ’21 masterpiece, for which we will always be grateful to him, guaranteed him a new one Opening of credit, but after the failed World Cup against weaker opponents and after the delayed renewal of the national team, Roberto could no longer present himself as the absolute dominus of the blue universe, had to come to terms. Is that momentum and hurt pride enough to justify the resignation? There could be much richer reasons. A pharaonic deal to manage the Saudi Arabian national team for the next three years. There they ensure that the agreement is nearing completion, if not already signed, and they say that negotiations started in June.
shoulders and counting
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That was the case when Mancini negotiated with the Federcalcio about a salary adjustment (500,000 euros) for the new role of supervisor, Mancini agreed with the Arab nabobs. If so, it would be a very sad, callous picture of our football, a blot on Mancini’s sports parable. Moving from one national team to another is not like moving from one club to another because the national team is a people’s team, it represents values and belonging. It’s not a private company, it’s an institution. In the summer he doesn’t let himself down like a dog on the freeway. It is not exonerated with a late-night text message from Mykonos, where the Turin entrepreneur is vacationing, dumped before the wedding for alleged treason. Mancini was married to Italy until June 2026. The frantic search for the new coach has already begun. With commitments pressing, there are no minutes to lose. Restoring credibility to the Football Association’s inability to absorb such an epilogue and instilling confidence in Azzurri fans requires strong names, like Mancini’s after the Swedish apocalypse. Gravina does not want to fall under the already tested Luciano Spalletti and Antonio Conte, who have ensured maximum availability. Spalletti is the favourite, which would tactically give more continuity to Mancio’s 4-3-3 and achieve more overall consensus, as well as lower salary costs. There’s the issue of the 3m clause tying him exclusively to De Laurentiis’ Napoli until January, but Gravina is confident he will resolve the matter, Conte would bring the experience as a former Coverciano tenant and the charisma to attacking a troop probably upset about the turn. The ex-Juventus player, who was already a coach and probably has another club adventure more in mind, has nonetheless lent himself to the Azzurri cause: if he missed the Spalletti rink and was asked to do so by his home country, he would answer with “yes”. We await the white smoke in the most confusing August 15 in Italian football.
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