Gennaro Gattuso has stepped down from his role as the Italian national team manager after the massive disappointment of missing the World Cup following the playoff loss to Bosnia-Herzegovina after penalties. It’s the third time in a row the storied soccer nation will miss the game’s biggest event. The manager released the following statement.
“With a heavy heart, and having failed to achieve the goal we had set ourselves, I consider my experience on the National Team bench to be over,” Gattuso said. “The Azzurri shirt is the most precious thing in football, and for this reason it is right to facilitate future technical decisions immediately. I would like to thank President Gabriele Gravina and Gianluigi Buffon, as well as all the Federation staff, for the trust and support they have always given me. It has been an honor to lead the National Team, and to do so with a group of players who have shown commitment and a strong attachment to the shirt. But my biggest thanks go to the fans, to all Italians who over these months have never failed to show their love and support for the National Team. Always with blue in my heart.”
Gattuso, who only joined in the summer of 2025 to replace Luciano Spalletti, failed to qualify the Azzurri, but the reality is he is only the latest coach who had to face huge challenges. Italian soccer is facing a big crisis, and the national team is only the reflection of broader issues, such as the lack of financial investments in infrastructure and stadiums, a lack of attention on the growth of young Italian players, and much more.
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After winning the World Cup in 2006 under Marcello Lippi, during the same summer that the nation also faced the rise of the Calciopoli scandal around the country, the national team were knocked out in the group phase at both 2010 and 2014 editions of the summer tournament, the last ones they actually played. Since then, Italy failed to qualify for three editions of the most important soccer tournament in the world. Let’s take a look at the appointments over that time, after Cesare Prandelli resigned from his job alongside Giancarlo Abete, the head of the FIGC (the Italian soccer federation):
Antonio Conte (2014-2016)
The Azzurri decided to appoint Antonio Conte to immediately restore the winning mentality in the short term. The Italian coach left Juventus at the beginning of the 2014-15 pre-season and was appointed as the new Italy manager. Conte is still remembered as one of the best Azzurri managers in recent history, despite not winning a trophy. At the 2016 UEFA European Championship, Italy were eliminated in the quarterfinals after a hard-fought match against Germany, eventually losing on penalties. Despite lacking the same depth of star talent as in previous generations, the Italian side showed strong organisation in the tournament. Following the competition, Conte stepped down from his role, as he wanted to return to club soccer. He was appointed by Chelsea, where he immediately made an impact by winning the Premier League in his debut season.
Gian Piero Ventura (2016-2017)
One of the most disappointing spells was the one led by Gian Piero Ventura, who replaced Conte with the national team. Ventura arrived after some strong years in charge of teams such as Bari and Torino, and made a big step in a team that featured players such as Gianluigi Buffon, Giorgio Chiellini, and Leonardo Bonucci. However, it turned out it wasn’t the right choice, and he lost in the playoffs against Sweden in what was one of the biggest shocks of Italian soccer. Italy only failed to qualify for the World Cup once before in 1958 and there was never a question of if they would qualify or not until that day. Sadly, it was just the beginning.
Roberto Mancini (2018-2023)
Mancini was called to replace Ventura and immediately restored a positive mentality in the environment. Mancini started a new project with the clear ambition of winning the World Cup, as he said multiple times over the years. During his tenure, he set a national record for the longest unbeaten streak in international soccer, going 37 matches without defeat between 2018 and 2021 with the Italy national team. As the COVID-19 emergency postponed the Euros, Italy surprisingly won the tournament in 2021 after beating Spain in the semifinal and England in the final played in Wembley after penalties. Despite the success, the issues were still there and the Azzurri failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup after losing in the playoff semifinal in shocking fashion against North Macedonia.
Luciano Spalletti (2023-25)
One year after the second failure, the Italian FA appointed Luciano Spalletti few months after he won an historical Scudetto with Napoli, the first one after the Diego Armando Maradona era. However, the relationship between the coach and the national team never clicked, and in the summer 2024 Italy were knocked out at the Round of 16 of the European championship. One year later, after a 3-0 defeat against Norway in the World Cup group qualifiers, Spalletti was sacked with immediate effect and replaced by Gennaro Gattuso.
Gennaro Gattuso (2025-2026)
After his appointment in the summer 2025, Gattuso made his debut in September 2025, but his tenure only lasted eight matches (six wins, one draw, one defeat), leaving the job after losing against Bosnia-Herzegovina at the penalties and failing again to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
