Italy national team: Maldini withdraws, Mancini returns

Within less than 48 hours, the top brass of the Italy national team has undergone a rapid upheaval. Andrea Pirlo was not chosen to lead the team, Technical Director Paolo Maldini resigned, "The Tinkerer" Claudio Ranieri replaced Maldini, and Roberto Mancini returned as head coach.

Yesterday afternoon (July 28), transfer news expert Fabrizio Romano delivered his trademark "Here we go" confirmation that both Ranieri and Mancini were the chosen ones. The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) made a swift decision to avoid sinking deeper into unproductive controversies that would benefit neither themselves nor Italian football.

Why did Maldini resign?

On the afternoon of July 27, the duo of Paolo Maldini (FIGC Technical Director) and Leonardo Araujo (advisor) jointly announced their resignation from their positions after a meeting with FIGC President Giovanni Malago, ending their tenure of just about two weeks and causing a shockwave in Italian football. The press and experts interpreted their resignation as the clearest indication of the issues that FIGC cannot resolve, even after appointing a new top leader. It turns out the problem was not whether Gabriele Gravina or Giovanni Malago served as President; FIGC remains an organization lacking conviction and stance, easily swayed by politics and public opinion.

Many people criticized Maldini's decision to resign. Former star Roy Keane stated: "To me, that's a childish act. You cannot abandon a whole project just because the coach you wanted wasn't chosen. Football doesn't work that way. It's a sign of poor leadership. If you truly believe in rebuilding Italian football, you must stay, fight for your ideas, and prove your worth over time."

But many others sided with the 58-year-old legend, believing that Maldini resigned to protect his self-respect rather than becoming another puppet in FIGC's weak governance system. Maldini himself confirmed this in his statement to the press: "Many will think that this decision is simply about Pirlo. It's not. You can agree or disagree with the choice of Pirlo, that's football, but asking people to take responsibility while denying them the authority to act is impossible. We did not resign because our preferred candidate was rejected. We resigned because the trust that brought us here has disappeared. Without trust, the position is just a title, not a responsibility."

Enormous pressure on the new team.

Italian media assessed that FIGC's almost instant replacement of the Maldini-Leonardo-Pirlo trio resembled a flight rather than a way to make crucial decisions for the future of a footballing nation rich in tradition and pride. FIGC wanted to wrap things up quickly to avoid a storm of controversy, whereas the issues should have been thoroughly discussed. With the rapid changes in just a few hours, all the ideas that had been cultivated over the past few weeks were rendered worthless.

For instance, FIGC had originally planned to appoint Giorgio Chiellini to the seat left by Maldini. He is a young man who understands the current Italy national team better than anyone and is ready to embrace new ideas. However, Chiellini declared he was "happy at Juventus," and FIGC handed the reins to the 79-year-old Ranieri, a man of immense experience but uncertain to overcome the conservative mindset that has stifled Italy's development for years. The appointment of Mancini while half of the Serie A coaches supported Antonio Conte is also considered a personal decision by Malago. Veteran strategist Fabio Capello stated that FIGC's decision cannot be called "rebuilding," but only "starting over," making it difficult to create something fresh.

Last season in Serie A, Ranieri served as a senior advisor for Roma. Before the season ended, he had to resign after a bitter conflict with coach Gian Piero Gasperini, reportedly opposing Gasperini's transfer plans. As for Mancini, he has been a failure for the past five years since winning EURO 2020 with the Italy national team. The history of this duo itself is enough to raise doubts, even though they are both experienced and dedicated figures.