Coach Gattuso, Italy selects a manager who has won the English Premier League

Italy is said to have quickly identified a replacement for Gennaro Gattuso, following the team's inability to earn a spot in the 2026 World Cup.

According to CEO Michele Criscitiello of Sportitalia, the resignation letters of Gennaro Gattuso and Gianluigi Buffon, who currently serve as head coach and team manager of Italy respectively, are expected to be submitted soon, while Italian Sports Minister Andrea Abodi has begun negotiations with Roberto Mancini to invite him to lead the national team.

Previously, after the penalty shootout defeat against Bosnia & Herzegovina, Italy failed to secure a spot for the third consecutive World Cup, also becoming the highest-ranked team absent from the tournament. This disappointing result immediately raised doubts about the future of coach Gattuso, who was appointed to replace Luciano Spalletti in June 2025.

In this context, several prominent Italian football figures such as Antonio Conte and Massimiliano Allegri have been linked as replacements for Gattuso if the Italian Football Federation decides to dismiss him. However, recent sources indicate that both Gattuso and team manager Gianluigi Buffon are likely to resign voluntarily, paving the way for a change in the coaching staff.

Regarding the replacement option, Roberto Mancini emerges as the top candidate. The 61-year-old strategist previously helped Azzurri achieve their most recent major title by defeating England in the Euro 2020 final, securing the team's second European championship in history.

He led the Italian national team from 2018 and established a 37-match unbeaten streak, a world record, before it was ended by Spain in 2021. However, after the shock of being eliminated by North Macedonia in the 2022 World Cup play-offs, Mancini resigned in August 2023.

Since then, the coach born in 1964 had a brief stint with the Saudi Arabian national team, before moving to coach Al Sadd Club in Qatar under a two-and-a-half-year contract. Before his success at the national team level, he also made a mark at the club level, notably winning the Premier League with Manchester City in 2012, with Sergio Aguero's decisive goal in the final moments of added time.