ROME — Less than three years after walking away from the Italy men’s national football team for a high-paying role with Saudi Arabia’s national side, legendary manager Roberto Mancini has issued a public apology as he steps back into the job he left, tasked with pulling the Azzurri out of one of the darkest streaks in their modern football history.
Mancini’s return comes on the heels of a catastrophic qualifying run that has plunged Italian football into crisis. For the third consecutive World Cup cycle, Italy failed to secure a spot in the tournament’s main draw, a shocking slide for a nation with four World Cup titles to its name. The latest disappointment, a playoff defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina earlier this year, triggered immediate resignations from both Italian Football Federation (FIGC) president Gabriele Gravina and incumbent head coach Gennaro Gattuso in April, opening up a sudden vacancy at the top of the national program.
The 61-year-old manager is no stranger to success with the Azzurri. He led Italy to its second European Championship title in 2021, a historic triumph that lifted the nation after decades of underperformance on the continental stage. But just two years after that iconic win, Mancini sent shockwaves through Italian football when he abruptly resigned from his post in August 2023. Just 14 days later, he was unveiled as the head coach of Saudi Arabia’s national team, taking on a far more lucrative contract that left many Italian fans feeling betrayed.
In his first public comments since announcing his return, Mancini owned his misstep, offering a heartfelt apology to fans and federation officials alike. “I’m very sorry,” he told reporters Wednesday. “It was like losing the woman of your life. And it means you did something that shouldn’t have been done. So I’m sorry, very sorry also for everything that happened over these last three years. … I’m going to try to bring the national team back where it belongs.”
Mancini also acknowledged that poor communication with then-FIGC president Gravina was entirely his fault. Aware that many fans still hold resentment over his 2023 exit, he said he expects a mixed reception when he returns to the touchline for his first match back in charge, a Nations League matchup against Belgium scheduled for September 25 at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico.
“I realize some people will be against me,” Mancini said. “I’m hoping the squad plays well enough that maybe people will forgive me.”
Notably, Mancini was not the FIGC’s first choice to fill the vacant head coaching role. Both star club managers Carlo Ancelotti and Pep Guardiola turned down offers to take the job, and former Italian international Andrea Pirlo was removed from consideration amid political controversy tied to a proposed sponsorship deal with a Russian betting company. That string of rejections left the federation to turn to the only high-profile available candidate with a proven track record of winning with the Azzurri: the man who left just over a year prior.