Roberto Mancini immediately apologized for his escape to Arabia . Following an introduction by President Malagò, the press conference that ushered in the new era of the Italian national team opened with a statement from the coach: "Three years ago, there was a lack of communication between me and President Gravina. If we had spoken, everything would probably have changed. I'm very sorry; the national team jersey has always been important to me. I made mistakes, I made mistakes, and I'm sorry for that. Three years ago, I lost the woman of my life, but now fate and President Malagò are giving me the chance to make amends. I'll give my all to bring the national team back to where it deserves to be."
For Claudio Ranieri, however, the call-up to the Azzurri "is the crowning achievement of a career ." "I was at the seaside and didn't think it could happen. I know there will be a lot of work to do, but I think my career shows that I've never backed down in the face of difficulties . I want to make Italians fall in love and think about the children, like my 12-year-old nephew, who have never seen Italy at the World Cup."
Claudio says it's "difficult to say" how long it will take to fix Italian football, but what's certain is that "work" is needed. "Roberto has to resolve the situation on the pitch, I have to resolve the situation that isn't visible."
"At the end of June in Cagliari," the technical director explains, "they told me that children have to spend too much money to go to soccer school, and many families can't afford it . So I want to understand how the school youth sector works so I can get kids back into this sport by lowering the prices."
Another point raised by Ranieri, the one the new Italian technical director insisted on most: children work too little on technique. "The youth national teams are doing well and winning because we are very good tactically, less so technically. We need to get back to dribbling; children need to learn how to move the ball. They need to work hard between the ages of 10 and 14. In the youth sectors, individual technique needs to be improved; I will try to do this . We need fundamentals, coaches who know how to teach dribbling and control, and then comes tactics. A coach of children shouldn't focus on helping them win, but on making them technically strong ."
Roberto Mancini reiterates his vision of football, fun and proactive: " I'll try to make Italy play so well that the fans will forgive me. How do I imagine their welcome? I'm the national team coach, I understand that when these things happen, there can be some people against me. I'll try to make the team play well. How do you forget 2023? I'll try to field a team that will try to do what they did years ago. The players are there and we need to give them confidence. We'll try to play well."
And this time, Mancio hopes to stay on for a long time, "even beyond the four years of his contract." The coach then returns to his first experience with the Azzurri: "Ninety percent of journalists thought our team was seventh or eighth in Europe, but if we haven't lost in four years, it means we've done something good. If Italy goes to the World Cup as they should, then they'll become one of the teams to beat. Even if they arrive as underdogs, we're still dangerous . Now we have to immediately put together a team and get to this point, to qualify for the European Championships and the World Cup."
Malagò, for his part, read a message from Gigio Donnarumma: "He wrote to me, I think from our honeymoon, to tell me it was the perfect choice, it was what we wanted." And he says that a similar message of approval was sent to him last night by his predecessor, Gabriele Gravina.
The "bad impression" that Minister Abodi spoke of is now behind us. Having lost Maldini, Leonardo, Guardiola, Ancelotti, and Pirlo in the space of less than three weeks, we're back to square one. Roberto Mancini, the man who, along with Antonio Conte, initially seemed the favorite for the job of coach, and with him Claudio Ranieri. The goal is twofold: to play in the next World Cup in at least four years and, within a decade, to return to the glories of a nation that consistently churned out champions.