ROME (AP) 鈥� issued an apology in his first public comments Wednesday after being rehired to coach an three years after he for a lucrative contract with Saudi Arabia.
鈥淚鈥檓 very sorry,鈥� Mancini said. 鈥淚t was like losing the woman of your life. And it means you did something that shouldn鈥檛 have been done. So I鈥檓 sorry, very sorry also for everything that happened over these last three years. 鈥� I鈥檓 going to try to bring the national team back where it belongs.鈥�
Italy to qualify for the World Cup, prompting the resignations of and coach in April, shortly after a .
The 61-year-old Mancini in 2021 but as Italy coach in August 2023, two weeks later.
鈥淚t was completely my fault,鈥� Mancini said, referring to a lack of communication with Gravina.
Mancini鈥檚 first match back in charge will be against Belgium in the Nations League on Sept. 25 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. He was asked about what type of reception fans might give him.
鈥淚 realize some people will be against me,鈥� Mancini said. 鈥淚鈥檓 hoping the squad plays well enough that maybe people will forgive me.鈥�
Mancini was a fourth-choice option after Carlo Ancelotti and Pep Guardiola turned the job down and amid political concerns over a sponsorship deal with a Russian betting firm.
Italy’s players
Italy will also face France and Turkey in its Nations League group.
Mancini can rely on players like Pio Esposito, Moise Kean and Nicol貌 Zaniolo in attack; Sandro Tonali and Nicol貌 Barella in midfield; Riccardo Calafiori and Marco Palestra at fullback; and Gianluigi Donnarumma in goal.
Center back has been an issue due to problems with and .
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think we鈥檙e in such a bad state: between center forwards and wingers were have a lot of options,鈥� Mancini said. 鈥淎nd I鈥檓 talking about young players who can still improve. I gave Kean his debut, so I know him very well.鈥�
Mancini also called Zaniolo up to Italy for the first time 鈥� before he had made his debut in Serie A.
Less tactics; more skills
Former Leicester and Roma coach Claudio Ranieri was hired as the federation’s technical director.
Ranieri said making soccer schools less expensive and more appealing for young Italians, who are gravitating toward other sports 鈥� like tennis, inspired by 鈥� would be a priority.
鈥淲e need to bring kids back to soccer,鈥� Ranieri said. 鈥淥ur national youth teams are performing well. We need to work on enabling players on the under-21 team to make the jump to the first team; and making sure that the Italy coach has players to choose from.”
Ranieri also suggested a move away from Italy’s historic devotion to tactics.
鈥淲e鈥檙e great tactically, others are good technically. Abroad, there鈥檚 not so much attention on the tactical aspects like there is here,” Ranieri said. “We need to go back to developing individual skills.鈥�
Unbeaten run
Between 2018 and 2021, Mancini coached Italy to a world-record 37-match unbeaten run.
However, to then-67th-ranked North Macedonia at home in 2022 meant that the Azzurri again missed out on the World Cup.
Mancini nevertheless kept his position before surprisingly quitting in August 2023. He left Saudi Arabia in 2024 and was most recently coach at Al-Sadd in Qatar, before departing last month.
Mancini also previously steered Inter Milan and Manchester City to league titles.
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