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The former Milan and Napoli manager Gennaro Gattuso has been appointed Italy’s national-team coach, the Italian football federation (FIGC) confirmed on Sunday.
Gattuso replaces Luciano Spalletti, who was sacked last week as a result of a 3-0 defeat by Norway in a World Cup qualifier. Gattuso will be formally introduced as head coach on Thursday at Rome’s Parco dei Principi hotel.
Gabriele Gravina, the FIGC president, said in a statement: “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.
“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.”
Spalletti departed after a stint of under two years, overseeing his final match, a 2-0 victory against Moldova, a day after revealing he had been told he was being dismissed as a result of Italy’s 3-0 defeat in Oslo by Norway in their opening World Cup qualifier.
Gattuso, who guided Napoli to a Coppa Italia triumph in 2020, is tasked with getting Italy to next year’s World Cup, after they missed out on the last two editions of the tournament. The 47-year-old is understood to have been given a one-year contract, culminating – if they qualify – in the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Gattuso made 73 appearances for Italy and was a member of the 2006 World Cup-winning squad. He recently left the Croatian club Hajduk Split by mutual consent, after a third-placed finish in the country’s top flight.
Gianluigi Buffon, an FIGC member, had discussed Gattuso’s appointment on Saturday. Claudio Ranieri was the FIGC’s top candidate for the role but the 73-year-old declined the offer, choosing instead to concentrate on his position as senior adviser at Roma.
Italy, third in World Cup qualifying Group I, will host Estonia in Bergamo on 5 September before taking on Israel in Hungary three days later.
Gattuso began his coaching career in 2013 as player-coach at the Swiss club Sion, where he finished his playing days after 13 seasons with Milan, but he was fired after winning two of his 10 league games in charge. Over a 12-year coaching journey, Gattuso has led nine clubs, including Milan, the Spanish side Valencia, and a brief stint in France at Marseille.
