World Cup "Italian Presence" Overview: The Most Likely to Win the Championship Isn't Ancelotti!

Written by Han Bing As the world gradually becomes accustomed to a World Cup without Italy, media are still aiding the Azzurri in seeking a sense of involvement in the event. The Milan Sports Gazette reviewed the Italian elements likely to appear across the participating teams in the USA-Canada-Mexico tournament. Beyond the three familiar Italian head coaches—Brazil's Carlo Ancelotti, Turkey's Vincenzo Montella, and the familiar figure from Chinese football, Uzbekistan's Fabio Cannavaro—there are over twenty assistant coaches, fitness coaches, analysts, and physiotherapists spread across multiple teams. Additionally, there are at least twenty-plus coaches, assistants, and players holding Italian passports. Even the Canadian team has extended an invitation to Italian fans, hoping they will participate in the grand event by supporting a "second home team."

Montella, nicknamed "Little Airplane," took charge of Turkey in September 2023. In March, during the European playoff matches, he led the team to consecutive victories over Romania and Kosovo, guiding Turkey back to the World Cup after a 24-year absence. Ancelotti assumed the role of Brazil's head coach in May last year and successfully guided the team to qualification. Cannavaro took over Uzbekistan after their qualification in October last year. Ancelotti and Cannavaro are the first Italian coaches for their respective teams, while Montella is the fourth Italian coach in Turkey's history.

▲Ancelotti and his son

The coaching staffs of the three Italian head coaches collectively include 14 additional Italians. Ancelotti's son Davide has been following his father since early 2012, moving through Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Napoli, and Everton. In July last year, he took charge of the Brazilian powerhouse Botafogo, leaving the position at the end of December. Fitness coach Mauri and performance analyst Folco have collaborated with Ancelotti for over 13 years, match analyst Montana for 8 years; Ancelotti essentially replicated his Real Madrid coaching team in Brazil. Eight months ago, scout Lasala also joined the Brazilian coaching staff.

▲Russo and Montella

Montella's fellow Italian assistants include assistant coach Russo, fitness coach Polino, and match analyst Crivellaro. Russo began assisting Montella in the summer of 2011, accompanying him through Fiorentina, Sampdoria, Milan, Sevilla, Adana Demirspor, and now the Turkish national team. Translator Salierno's journey is particularly unique: his mother is a Galatasaray fan. Before the club hired Cesare Prandelli in the summer of 2014, he emailed the team manager to recommend himself as a translator. In the summer of 2021, he served as Montella's translator at Adana Demirspor and has followed him to the Turkish national team.

▲Many of Cannavaro's colleagues from the Guangzhou team have joined the Uzbekistan national team

Cannavaro essentially relocated his Guangzhou Evergrande coaching team to Uzbekistan. His brother Paolo served as his assistant at Guangzhou Evergrande, Benevento, and Udinese. The 75-year-old team doctor Castellazzi was part of Italy's medical staff during the 2006 World Cup. In the summer of 2012, he followed Marcello Lippi, serving as team doctor for Guangzhou Evergrande and the Chinese national team, then returned to Evergrande to assist Cannavaro. This marks his return after a hiatus of four and a half years. Assistant coach Troise began collaborating with Cannavaro in the summer of 2016 when Cannavaro coached Tianjin Quanjian. Fitness coach Albarerra previously worked as an assistant to Zaccheroni with the Japanese national team and Beijing Guoan. Only goalkeeping coach Chimenti lacks experience in China. During his playing career, he represented Roma and Juventus, and after retirement, he served as goalkeeping coach for Sampdoria and the Italian U21 national team.

▲Nanni and Longoni serving with Algeria

Additionally, the Algerian national team has two Italian assistant coaches: Nanni and Longoni. The former gained overnight fame in January 2015: after Totti scored twice in the Rome derby, it was Nanni who handed the phone to Totti; that photo of Totti with the entire stands became a classic Serie A image. Longoni holds a doctorate in sports science and joined Algeria's coaching staff in March 2024.

▲Norway and Manchester City physiotherapist Pafundi

Norway's physiotherapist Pafundi was a professional cyclist. He became a physiotherapist for Manchester City in 2016 and became Erling Haaland's dedicated physiotherapist in the summer of 2022. It was the Manchester City striker who persuaded the Norwegian Football Association to allow Pafundi to serve as Norway's physiotherapist on a part-time basis. During the World Cup qualifying group stage, Italy was defeated twice by Norway; Pafundi also had to serve his respective team. The 73-year-old set-piece assistant coach Vio for the USA team also works part-time; his current main role is with Watford in the Championship.

▲Qatar's Franciosi

Forty-year-old Franciosi has been Qatar's sports science assistant since 2017. Switzerland's physiotherapist Lanfranco previously worked with Juventus's youth teams and joined Yakin's Swiss coaching staff in August 2024. If Italy had qualified, he would have faced his home country in the group stage, but unfortunately, that did not happen. Compared to Brazil's head coach Ancelotti, perhaps the Italian most likely to win the championship in this World Cup is Annecchiarico, who became France's physiotherapist in 2012. He already lifted the World Cup trophy with France in 2018. Beyond football, he has also served as a physiotherapist for rugby and basketball teams.

▲Annecchiarico (left) and Lanfranco (right)

Of course, if we broaden the scope of Italians—Argentina's head coach Scaloni, Ecuador's coach Becaccece, assistant coaches Chiesa, Marino, goalkeeping coach Campagnuono, Paraguay's assistant coach Cristofanelli, fitness coach Chiarelli, and USA assistant coach D'Agostino are all Argentinians holding Italian passports. The Argentine team also includes at least 18 players such as Alvarez, Simeone, De Paul, and Mac Allister who possess Italian passports, but their connection to Italy is limited to that.

It is worth mentioning that the Canadian Football Association, one of the host nations, launched a jersey exchange campaign targeting Italian fans. Each fan can exchange an Italian national team jersey for a Canadian team jersey free of charge at designated times and locations—and Canada's group stage opponent includes Bosnia and Herzegovina, the team that eliminated Italy from qualification. Canada is estimated to have over 1.5 million residents of Italian descent. The host nation, lacking in football atmosphere, hopes to gain some home advantage through this initiative.