Italy head 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 soccer 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.”
Mancini posted on Instagram that his resignation was “a personal choice.”
“I salute and thank all of the players and fans that have accompanied me over these five years. I’ll always keep the extraordinary Euro 2020 victory in my heart,” Mancini added. “It was an honor.”
The federation doesn’t have much time to find a new coach with Euro 2024 qualifying matches against North Macedonia and Ukraine scheduled for Sept. 9 and 12, respectively.
Former Italy coach Antonio Conte, who left Tottenham in March, and Luciano Spalletti, who led Napoli to the Serie A title last season and said he wants to take a sabbatical this season, are among those being mentioned as a possible replacement.
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. He was under contract through the 2026 World Cup.
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