Three candidates emerge to replace Gattuso as head coach of Italy national team
Gennaro Gattuso is widely expected to leave his position as head coach of the Italy national team following his failure to guide the Nazionale to the 2026 World Cup, and according to the latest updates, there are three main candidates to replace him.
Who could replace Gattuso as Italy national team head coach?
Gattuso and his players fell short in the World Cup play-off final away against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday night. The 10-man Azzurri lost on penalties away in Zenica, which means that they have now failed to qualify for the last three World Cup tournaments.
As a result, Italian football is set for a major overhaul, with Gattuso expected to leave his position in the imminent future, Gianluigi Buffon expected to leave his role as delegation chief, and Gabriele Gravina to depart the position of President of the FIGC.
According to reports from Sky Sport Italia and others, there are three early options to replace Gattuso as head coach.
The ‘dream’ option for many Azzurri supporters would be Massimiliano Allegri, who is less than a year into his two-year deal with Milan, which also includes an option to extend for a further 12 months.
The former Juventus head coach has never previously coached the national team, but is the second-most successful Serie A coach of all time with 6 Scudetti to his name.
There have also been reports of a potential return to the Italy set-up for Antonio Conte, who previously held the position between 2014 and 2016.
Conte went 10 matches unbeaten at the start of his Italy spell and comfortably secured qualification for Euro 2016, but left to join Chelsea in the Premier League after guiding the team to a quarter-final finish at the tournament.
Another former Italy CT who could potentially return to the role is Roberto Mancini, whois currently under contract with Al-Sadd in 2027. Reports from Sky indicate that he would ‘gladly’ return to the position.
Italy won EURO 2020 under the stewardship of Mancini in the summer of 2021, but also failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup during his tenure.
There have also been suggestions of Simone Inzaghi and Stefano Pioli, who are currently considered outsiders for the role.