Roberto Mancini Returns to Azzurri Bench Amid FIGC Turmoil

Roberto Mancini is back where Italian football has come to know him best: on the Azzurri bench, summoned again in a moment of confusion and urgency at the FIGC.

His return as Italy head coach has been agreed after Gennaro Gattuso’s resignation in April left the national side drifting and a chaotic search for a successor stalled on multiple fronts. Negotiations with several leading candidates went nowhere. Time slipped away. The federation, under pressure and short on options, turned back to a familiar figure.

The FIGC confirmed Mancini’s appointment with an official post on its social media channels, while Sky Italia reported he will be formally presented on Wednesday. The 59-year-old has just left Qatari club Al-Sadd and now steps back into international football following his recent spell in charge of Saudi Arabia.

This is not a nostalgic reunion. It is a rescue mission.

A Search in Freefall

What should have been a controlled transition spiralled into internal crisis. The managerial hunt, already delicate after Gattuso’s abrupt exit, was thrown into disarray when FIGC president Giovanni Malago intervened at the last possible moment to block Andrea Pirlo’s appointment.

Pirlo was on the brink. Then the plug was pulled.

Malago’s dramatic U-turn, driven by concerns over Pirlo’s ambassadorial role with a Russian betting company, detonated inside the federation. The fallout was immediate and brutal. Technical director Paolo Maldini walked away. Adviser Leonardo followed him out the door. Both resigned after just 16 days in their posts, leaving a leadership vacuum in the very department tasked with shaping Italy’s future.

What remained was a federation under scrutiny, a bench still empty, and a clock that would not stop ticking.

Malago Turns to a Trusted Winner

Facing the media on Tuesday, Malago laid out why the FIGC had gone back to Mancini. The message was clear: this was not the time for experiments.

“Time was running out and I thought the right person to be coach was Roberto Mancini. He's the best possible choice,” Malago said, backing experience and familiarity over novelty.

The decision is also part of a broader restructuring at the top of Club Italia. Malago stressed that the role of technical director remains central, clarifying that it “has not disappeared,” and revealing that the federation had just approved an amendment to its statute. That change allows another figure to also serve as president of Club Italia, effectively sharing responsibility for the national team’s sporting direction.

Malago did not want Mancini to stand alone in this new cycle. He wanted a partner.

“I needed someone to share the choice of Roberto Mancini as coach, and that person is Claudio Ranieri, who signed his commitment a few minutes ago,” he confirmed.

Ranieri Joins the Project

The appointment of Claudio Ranieri as technical director adds another heavyweight to the new structure. The legendary former Leicester City boss, whose title-winning miracle in England still echoes across Europe, arrives as the experienced counterweight in the background, a sounding board and strategic guide rather than the man on the touchline.

Malago was keen to underline that Ranieri’s position should not be confused with other roles inside the FIGC. This is a tailored job, designed precisely so that Mancini’s authority on the pitch is matched by strong technical support off it.

The pairing is striking: Mancini, the coach trusted to lead Italy again, and Ranieri, the veteran architect stepping in upstairs. Between them, the FIGC is betting that gravitas and know-how can steady a ship that has rocked badly over the past months.

Now the turmoil has produced its new power axis. Mancini back on the bench, Ranieri in the director’s chair, Malago staking his presidency on their success. The questions will come quickly. The answers will have to come on the pitch.