Recently appointed head coach of Italy’s National Men’s Football Team, Roberto Mancini, has promised to get fans to fall in love with the team.
He said this in his address when he was unveiled by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) as the man to replace Gennarro Gattuso in the head coaching role.
However, Andrea Pirlo was expected to be named as Gattuso’s replacement but his involvement with a Russian betting company Fonbet as a global ambassador led to major backlash prompting the federation to pull back on the decision.
At the time of Mancini’s second run as the Azzurris’ head coach, Italy has missed out on qualifying to the FIFA World Cup in three straight editions.
Speaking at the presser, Mancini, who led Italy to win the 2020 European Championship, was hopeful to repeat a similar feat.
“We signed a four-year contract, and I hope I can win an important trophy, or even two, and then stay on beyond that as well, if possible.”
“I will try to make sure the team is so beautiful and plays so well that the fans fall in love with it, and perhaps forgive me for what happened. That’s what I hope for” Mancini said.
Former Chelsea and Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri was also unveiled at the technical director tasked with football development across Italy’s national football teams.
