The Italian Luciano Spallettiformer Napoli coach, was appointed this Friday by the Italian Federation (FIGC) as new Italian coach after the unexpected resignation of Roberto Mancini last Sunday, with less than a year to go before Euro 2024 kicks off.
“The Italian Football Federation has announced that it has reached an agreement with Luciano Spalletti for the position of coach of the Italian national team,” the FIGC reported.
“The Tuscan coach will take up his position from September 1, 2023 and the official presentation will take place on the occasion of the meeting of Azzurrischeduled for the first days of September, at the Federal Technical Center of Coverciano,” the agency added in the statement.
Spalleti signed a contract for the next three years, until 2026.
Neither the coach nor the Federation paid Napoli the 3.2 million euro clause that for the first time prevented the coach from signing for any team this season, according to local media reports.
The reason, according to the aforementioned sources, is that both parties -FIGC and Spalletti- consulted their respective legal teams and did not see problems when faced with a possible case by the group led by Aurelio De Laurentiis.
In this way, Spallettiit’s always that the federation’s first choicebegins a new phase after the success achieved in Napoli, which he led to lift the third ‘Scudetto’ in its history, the first without Diego Armando Maradona.
A ‘Scudetto’ that is very special for the coach born in Florence (north), where the local title seems to have been elusive throughout his career. He had to leave Italy, to the Russian Zenit St. Petersburg, to get one in 2010.
Of course, before the victory in Naples, Spalletti lifted two Italian Cups and an Italian Super Cup with Roma.
Spalletti has always been the first choice of the FIGC although, due to the difficulty and uncertainty generated by the existence of the Napoli clause, the organization has always had Antonio Conte, former Italian coach (2014-16) and former Tottneham coach, in their room. , Chelsea, Inter or Juventus, among others.
The new coach will make his debut in charge of the ‘Azzurra’ against North Macedonia – a team that left Mancini’s Italy from the Qatar 2022 World Cup – on September 9, in a qualifying match for the next Euro 2024.
Spalletti takes charge of the ‘Azzurra’ after Mancini made the shock decision to resign less than a week ago after remaining in charge at a critical moment in Italian football history, when he failed to qualify for the World Cup Qatar 2022 despite being the current European champions, in what is the second consecutive World Cup without an Italian presence.
In addition, he was recently appointed as general coordinator of the sub’21 and sub’20 teams, gaining more responsibility in its selection and rebuilding model.
“My resignation as coach of the national team is a personal choice. I thank President Gravina for his trust, along with all the members of the FIGC. I congratulate and thank all my players and fans who joined me in It’s been 5 years. I The extraordinary success of Euro 2020 will always be in my heart. It’s an honor,” said Mancini in farewell.
Mancini has led the rebuilding of Italy since 2018 and, in recent games, he has chosen young talents like Wilfred Gnonto (Leeds) and for the nationalization of some players like Mateo Retegui.
The coach left the ‘Azzurro’ bench after 61 games, with a total record of 39 wins, 13 draws and 9 losses.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
