Roberto Mancini will remain the head coach of the football national team of Italy until 2026 according to the Italian football federation. The 56-year-old Italian tactician has been the coach of the national team since 2018.
Recall that Mancini who is a former coach of Manchester City and Inter Milan, became the coach of Italy after the country failed to qualify for the last edition of the FIFA World Cup under coach Gian Piero Ventura.
Based on his initial contract with the Italian FA, he was expected to remain the head coach of the national team until 2022 which means that the forthcoming European championship in June this year and the FIFA World Cup in 2022 would have been his last two tournaments as the coach of the country.
With the new contract extension, Roberto Mancini is expected to lead Italy to the Euro 2020 which will kick-off in June. He will also lead the country to two FIFA World Cups including the forthcoming 2022 World Cup.
His first test after signing the contract extension will be in the European championship against Turkey in Rome. He is expected to make Italy continue with their fine form when the competition commences in June.
Recall that Roberto Mancini led Italy to enjoy a smooth Euro 2020 qualification rounds which saw the country win their 10 qualification games without dropping a point throughout the process.
After extending his contract with the Italian national team which is popularly known as Azzurri, Mancini said he is pleased that people like the team he and his coaching crew have put together.
“It gives me a lot of satisfaction that people like the squad we’ve put together and I’m optimistic for the future,” Mancini said.
“Over the next year, we’ll have the Euros, the Nations League finals, and the World Cup. The goal is to win – while realizing that it won’t be easy and that it will also require some luck.”
Roberto Mancini who has been coaching since 2001, has not won any major title with any national team. However, he has been a successful coach at some of the clubs he has managed.
For instance, he has won three Serie A titles and two Coppa Italia with Inter Milan; he has won one Premier League and one FA Cup with Manchester City. The last club he managed before he was appointed the coach of Italy was Zenit Saint Petersburg.
