Roberto Mancini announces surprise resignation as Italy coach

Italy coach Roberto Mancini surprisingly resigned on Sunday, ending an an up-and-down tenure with the national team that included a European Championship title in 2021 but also a failed qualification for last year’s World Cup. The Italian football federation issued a short announcement saying that Mancini communicated his resignation “late last night,” adding that a new coach would be named “over the next days.” The federation doesn’t have much time with Euro 2024 qualifying matches against North Macedonia and Ukraine scheduled for 9 and 12 September, respectively. Only nine days ago, the federation had announced that Mancini was being given the added responsibility of overseeing the under-20 and under-21 teams, too.

Roberto Mancini has resigned as Head Coach of Italy. The FIGC will now consider the best option for the Azzurri. pic.twitter.com/KCdhWeGxnf

— Italy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@Azzurri_En) August 13, 2023

Mancini was hired in May 2018 to revive the Azzurri after they also failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup under predecessor Gian Piero Ventura. And he did by adding flair and youth to a team that won admirers all over the continent during the year-delayed Euro 2020. Mancini was hailed for his vision when he called up then-Roma forward Nicolò Zaniolo before he had ever played in Serie A, but he also struggled to find top players from the Italian league, which has been hesitant to use young players at times. A 1-0 semi-final playoff loss to 67th-ranked North Macedonia at home last year meant that the Azzurri missed the World Cup in Qatar. It’s also been an emotional time for Mancini, who lost his good friend, former teammate and national team delegation chief Gianluca Vialli to pancreatic cancer in January. Vialli was 58. Siniša Mihajlović, another of Mancini’s former teammates and then a fellow coach, died three weeks before Vialli. It’s unclear what’s next for the 58-year-old Mancini, who was a leading club coach before taking over the national team, having won league titles at both Inter Milan and Manchester City. Mancini was also a standout player for Sampdoria, Lazio and Italy. Mancini’s exit puts the federation in complete rebuilding mode, with women’s coach Milena Bertolini having also announced her resignation after the Azzurre failed to advance from the Women’s World Cup group stage. Mancini’s last match in charge was a 3-2 win over the host Netherlands in the Nations League final four third-place match on 18 June. Having lost its opening Euro 2024 qualifier to England, Italy is also facing an uphill battle to qualify for next year’s tournament in Germany.