Returning Italy coach Roberto Mancini said he is hoping to win back the fans who are still upset with him for bolting on the national team three years ago, as he prepares for his first matches back in charge.
Mancini was reappointed in July and again tasked with revitalizing an Italy team in crisis, after the Azzurrimissed out on the World Cup for a third successive time.
Mancini led Italy to the European Championship title in 2021 but shockingly resigned as Italy coach in August 2023, taking over Saudi Arabia’s national team two weeks later.
“I’m not in credit [because of the trophy] because that’s in the past, it doesn’t count for anything,” Mancini said on Monday.
“I think that when a fan feels betrayed, he has the right to be upset, and you have to accept it. I think to win them back, we must do things well and bring the national team back to where it belongs so things will settle.”
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First up for Mancini is four UEFA Nations League matches.
Italy start at home to Belgium on Friday before playing Türkiye three days later, then France on Oct. 2 and Türkiye again on Oct. 5.
Mancini has called up 34 players and his squad includes a mix of experienced players — some of who were part of the Euro 2020 winning run — and eight potential debutants.
Two of those experienced players have already withdrawn from the squad, with Federico Dimarco and Bryan Cristante being replaced by Matteo Ruggeri and Samuele Ricci.
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“I think it’s right to have young players so we can get to know them directly, because that’s the most important thing to have a very strong squad in the future,” Mancini said. “So we have to be quick to understand who could be the players that could be with us for the next four years.
“I want a team that dominates, that plays well, a team that manages to always give the maximum. You can’t always win, obviously, but we will try to start with doing this, that’s how you win. We are all very positive.”
While Mancini expects the more experienced players to help the youngsters settle in, he hopes the youths will bring a bit of “carefreeness” and “do things on the field that when you’re older you don’t do because you think too much.”
And he admits there’s another bonus to the new faces: that they don’t have the shadow of failure hanging over them from the World Cup qualifiers.
“There are many young players who weren’t there, who are here for the first time,” Mancini said. “They are very happy to be here and want to give their all for the national team.
“I know we’ll bring something home over the next four years. I’m sure of that because I know something about soccer players, so I see they have talent and they just need to be given the opportunity to play.”
The Nations League Finals take place next June, a year before the European Championship.
The Euro 2028 final will be held at Wembley, where Mancini and Italy triumphed in 2021.
