Mancini: "The Italian national team is the love of my life, I hope the fans will forgive me"

Roberto Mancini acknowledged that stepping down as Italy's head coach in 2023 to manage the Saudi Arabian national team was the greatest error of his professional life. Now back at the helm of the Azzurri, the 61-year-old strategist voiced profound remorse and wished for supporters to renew their faith in him.

The past three weeks have been a period of chaos for Italian football. After appointing Paolo Maldini as technical director and Leonardo as special advisor, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) searched for a successor on the coaching bench.

Carlo Ancelotti and Pep Guardiola both declined the offer. Andrea Pirlo was then selected, but the deal collapsed because the former midfielder is currently a global brand ambassador for a Russian betting company—an entity banned from operating in Italy.

Facing a public backlash, Maldini and Leonardo decided to resign rather than continue searching for another candidate. Ultimately, FIGC President Giovanni Malago stepped in directly to resolve the situation, appointing Roberto Mancini back as head coach while bringing Claudio Ranieri on as technical director.

Both appeared together at the introductory press conference on July 29 (local time). The most talked-about topic was Mancini's controversial decision to unexpectedly resign as Italy's coach in 2023 to take over the Saudi Arabian national team.

At the start of the press conference, Mancini proactively addressed this sensitive topic.

"I want to speak first so that everyone doesn't have to ask the same question. What happened three years ago stemmed from a lack of communication between me and President Gabriele Gravina. If we had sat down and talked directly back then, things would certainly have gone differently."

The tactician who led Italy to win EURO 2020 could not hide his emotion when talking about the national team. "The Italian national team means so much to me. Losing it is like losing the love of my life. That means you made a mistake. Even if you did many good things before, clearly something was wrong. I am sorry for everything that happened over the past three years. But fate and President Malago have given me a second chance. I will try to bring the team back to where it belongs."

Determination to bring Italy back to the World Cup

The FIGC's decision to invite Mancini back had sparked considerable controversy. Many fans and experts argued that Italian football was regressing by reappointing someone who had abandoned the team midway, even though he was the most recent coach to deliver a major title with the EURO 2020 victory.

However, Mancini believes the current squad has enough quality to revive Italy. "I want to build a team that can recreate what we did in 2021. The current squad has quality and many young talents. Our goal is to play positive, attractive, and effective football. I fully understand that some people will oppose me. But I will try to help the team perform well so that fans can love the Azzurri again and perhaps forgive me."

Mancini signed a four-year contract with the Italian national team. When asked whether the new contract includes clauses preventing him from leaving early like before, the coach stated: "The first time I stayed with the team for five years, and it was a very happy period. This is the job I love most. Now we have signed a four-year contract. I hope to win one or two titles, and if possible, I would like to stay even longer."

Mancini was brought back at a time when Italian football is in crisis, with the team missing three consecutive World Cups, including the failure in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers under his own tenure.

Nevertheless, the manager still believes in the traditional resilience of the Azzurri. "I remember when I started my first term, about 90-95% of journalists rated Italy as only the seventh or eighth strongest team in Europe. But then we won 30 matches, drew 7, and only had Spain break our unbeaten record. That shows we achieved something very special."

He affirmed that the Italian team is always a formidable opponent when they participate in major tournaments. "When Italy qualifies for the World Cup, we always become one of the most formidable teams. Maybe we are not the top contenders, but Italy is always dangerous in such tournaments. The immediate goal is to build a team strong enough to secure a spot in the EURO after the Nations League, then aim for the World Cup with the ambition to bring Italy back to the pinnacle of world football."