Roberto Mancini, the Italian Football Federation’s fourth choice, has been named as the new head coach of the Italy national team.
Giovanni Malago, the head of the federation, had initially tried to persuade Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti to take the job; both declined.
And then the third choice, Andrea Pirlo, had practically agreed terms… before being rejected by the Italian FA after being outed as a global ambassador for the Russian betting firm Fonbet.
Selfish Ends
Pirlo revealed that he was no longer a candidate for the role earlier this week after a scandal erupted in Italy over the weekend.
Despite having all but signed on the dotted line, the former midfielder was withdrawn from the running after a series of Italian politicians protested over Pirlo’s apparent pro-Russia links.
That included his connection to Fonbet, for whom he has acted as a brand ambassador since October last year while working as the head coach of Dubai based United FC. Pirlo has also attended several high-profile events in Moscow that were seen by some as a celebration of the war in Ukraine.
Fonbet has sponsored numerous sporting events that involve veterans of the conflict in recent years, as well as organising events at which Pirlo has appeared alongside pro-Putin supporters.
This has caused outrage amongst plenty in Italy, with Carlo Calenda – a senior figure in the country’s Azione political party, commenting:
“Anyone who is or has been promoting Russia after 2022 should not hold national office.”
Pirlo has been forced to defend himself on social media, claiming that his relationship with Fonbet was of a purely ‘commercial and sporting nature’.
“Over the last few days I watched, with great bitterness, the debate that swirled around my name,” Pirlo wrote on Instagram.
“To assign a political meaning to that collaboration means ascribing to me beliefs which I have never expressed and that do not belong to me.”
Pirlo isn’t the only legend to have been taken down amidst the controversy, with the iconic Paolo Maldini – who was only appointed technical director at the Italian Football Federation two weeks ago – forced to resign after recommending his former AC Milan teammate for the head coach’s position.
Amid the furore, Fonbet have released an official statement in which they lambast the media and Italian politicians for bringing politics into football to ‘pursue selfish ends.’
“We continue to monitor closely the reports coming from the foreign press and we are concerned by the amount of lies and disinformation being spread by the Western media in an attempt to defame one of the greatest athletes in the history of football,” it reads.
The Big Rebuild
It was hoped that the appointment of Maldini would herald a return to the good old days for the Azzurri, the four-time World Cup winners who have now failed to qualify for each of the last three editions of the tournament.
The most recent failure cost Gennaro Gattuso his job, with Maldini sounding out the legendary Italian manager Ancelotti and the ever-popular Guardiola as his successor.
However, terms could not be agreed with either and so Maldini turned to Pirlo, a sublime player in his day but not somebody blessed with a stellar coaching record.
With plan A, B and C grounded, Mancini will enter the breach. He previously managed Italy from 2018 until 2023, crowning his tenure with victory in the EURO 2020 final against England at Wembley Stadium.
The Azzurri remained unbeaten for 37-games at one point in Mancini’s reign, but a failure to qualify for the 2022 World Cup – with a humbling loss to North Macedonia in the play-offs – saw him announce his resignation.
Mancini speaks about his return 🎙️🇮🇹#Azzurri #VivoAzzurro pic.twitter.com/Xe586CBFmH
— Italy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@Azzurri_En) July 29, 2026
Mancini was then announced as the head coach of Saudi Arabia; a role he has indicated that he took largely for the riches on offer – issuing a grovelling apology to the Italian people when unveiled as the new boss this week.
“I’m very sorry,” he said.
“It was like losing the woman of your life. And it means you did something that shouldn’t have been done. So I’m sorry, very sorry also for everything that happened over these last three years… I’m going to try to bring the national team back where it belongs.”
Claudio Ranieri, who masterminded Leicester City’s extraordinary Premier League triumph in 2015/16, has been announced as Maldini’s replacement as technical director.