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Why Italy feel 2006 World Cup-winner Gennaro Gattuso is the right man to lead Azzurri
Italy appointed former midfielder Gennaro Gattuso, who has managed leading clubs such as AC Milan and Napoli in the past, as their new coach after Luciano Spalletti was sacked following a 0-3 defeat to Norway in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers. read more
Gennaro Gattuso was named the new coach of the Italian men's football team after the FIGC decided to sack Luciano Spalletti. AP
In their desperation to avoid missing out on the FIFA World Cup for a third consecutive time, the Italian football federation (FIGC) named former Milan and Napoli manager Gennaro Gattuso as Italy's coach on Sunday. The development comes a week after Luciano Spalletti was sacked from the post after two years in charge following a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Norway on Saturday, 7 June during the ongoing Qualifiers for next year's FIFA World Cup.
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Former midfielder Gattuso was part of the Marcello Lippi-coached Italian team that had defeated France on penalties to win the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.
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And the Italian federation is hopeful of the fact that the 47-year-old, who had coached Napoli to the Coppa Italia title in 2020, will be able to pull off something similar as manager, provided Azzurri are able to qualify for the tournament.
FIGC president Gabriele Gravina, for one, describes Gattuso as a 'symbol of Italian football', and is banking on his 'professionalism and experience' for the four-time world champions to return to the World Cup after a 12-year gap.
'Gattuso is a symbol of Italian football – the blue jersey is like a second skin for him. His motivations, his professionalism and his experience will be fundamental to best face the upcoming commitments of the National Team,' Gravina said in an official statement on Gattuso's appointment.
'Aware of the importance of the objective we want to achieve, I thank him for the availability and total dedication with which he has received this challenge, sharing the FIGC project for the overall development of our football, in which the blue jersey plays a strategic central role,' he added.
Can Gattuso keep Italy's World Cup dream alive?
After failing to qualify for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups – while winning the Euro in 2021 – Italy began their qualification campaign for next year's tournament that will be jointly hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico with a lopsided defeat against Norway, in which Manchester City star Erling Haaland scored the third goal.
Spalletti, who was informed of his ouster after the 3-0 defeat, oversaw a 2-0 win over Moldova in his final game in charge. Despite the win coming against a side ranked 154th in the world, it has brought Italy's campaign back on track and revived their hopes of reaching the Finals.
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The first round of the UEFA leg of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers comprises 12 groups – six of them have four teams each and the remaining have an additional team. Italy are part of Group I, a five-team group in which they currently are ranked third with three points after their victory over Moldova. Each team plays the remaining sides twice on a home-and-away basis.
The format of the UEFA World Cup qualifiers is such that the 12 group winners gain direct entry into the tournament while the runners-up will be joined by the four best-placed teams amongst UEFA Nations League group winners which finished outside the top two in their World Cup Qualifying group.
Italy had finished second in their Nations League group last year, meaning they will have to finish among the top two for them to keep their World Cup dream alive. They face Israel and Estonia, currently ranked second and fourth respectively in their group, in their next fixtures in September and victories in those games should boost their chances of a top-two finish.
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