Roberto Mancini reportedly decided to remain in charge of Italy after a meeting with FIGC President Gabriele Gravina and following the players’ requests not to leave.
Mancini was considering quitting the job after Thursday’s loss against North Macedonia, which forced Italy to miss out on the second successive World Cup. He had extended his contract until 2026 last year, before the winning European Championship.
Mancini confirmed that he would remain in charge during a press conference on Monday and according to Calciomercato.com, Italy players had a key role in his decision.
“Despite the huge disappointment, I am happy to see that the job we’ve done in the last four years has been appreciated,” Mancini said yesterday.
Mancini confirms Italy stay and insists ‘we could have won the World Cup’
“The victory at the Euros was not the only good thing we did. The lads deserve the praise for what we’ve done. I can say that these guys are special. The group is exceptional.”
Leonardo Bonucci and his teammates persuaded Mancini to remain in charge. They’ve all backed the coach and repeatedly asked him not to leave. The CT took a final decision after a few days and following a formal meeting with FIGC President Gabriele Gravina who had ruled out Mancini’s sacking on Thursday night.
According to the report, Gravina has ensured that the Federation will start a new project to relaunch Italian football, discussing Serie A clubs’ central role and reorganizing the FIGC youth sector.
#Mancini resta ct dell'#Italia: cosa lo ha convinto a continuare https://t.co/V0mIywQDCa pic.twitter.com/AcJ7PuzGhF
— calciomercato.com (@cmdotcom) March 29, 2022
Always a good idea to ask the players what they think….
Fours more years what a great idea!!!
What a great idea!!!
Oh no four more years of watching Immobile missing chances.