Team coordinator justified
© Imago
The article appeared in the first version on June 15 at 2:46 p.m. and was updated after confirmation by the association.
Gianluigi Buffon, team coordinator of the Italian national team, confirmed the commitment of ex-player Gennaro Gattuso as the Squadra Azzurra coach. “I believe that in the end we made the best possible choice,” he said, according to Italian media reports, in a live switch of the broadcaster “Rai” to the U21 after the European Championship game against host Slovakia (1-0). The association followed on Sunday afternoon and presented the new coach.
The 47-year-old, who was known primarily for his combative and aggressive style of play during his own professional career, was recently without a coaching job. He had worked for Hajduk Split until the beginning of this month, where he finished third in the past season, the worst placement since 2020/21. Gattuso previously trained the AC Milan, SSC Naples as well as FC Valencia and Olympique Marseille. In total, the former midfielder has been working in nine different clubs in six different countries since 2013 – he never lasted for more than two years.
“We have worked and continue working, we are waiting for the last details,” emphasized Buffon, also 47 years old and in 2006 at the World Cup triumph with Gattuso, among others, at the finals in Germany in the goal of the Italians. “With the president and the whole association we had pretty dense days, full of all sorts of moments.”
After the early separation from Luciano Spalletti, wish candidate Claudio Ranieri had rejected the association. The names of the 2006 world champions quickly came into play as well as those of Fabio Cannavaro (most recently Dinamo Zagreb) and Daniele de Rossi (most recently as Rome). Other prominent Italian trainers such as Carlo Ancelotti (National Coach of Brazil), Antonio Conte (SSC Naples) or Massimiliano Allegri (AC Milan) are contractually bound.
Why the choice of an Italian coach fell
“We start again where we always started after the dark moments by trying to think about our role and the requirements for the boys and the trainers,” said Buffon. You would have wanted to avoid a trainer who doesn’t come from Italy. The last time was only for a year with a term for Gattuso. Italy is currently worried about participating in the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico.