The Italian team has just opened the 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign in Europe with a 0-3 defeat to Norway. This defeat was like a drop in the water, causing the Azzurri to part ways with captain Luciano Spalletti.
Thus, in just 3 years, the hot seat at the heavyweight team has changed hands twice. Previously, Luciano Spalletti replaced Roberto Mancini from August 2023. At EURO 2024, Italy showed a poor performance when they lost to Switzerland in the round of 16.
Despite taking over the Mancini seat with impressive results (champion of Serie A with Napoli), Spalletti could not help the national team recover. In 23 matches leading the Azzurri, the 66-year-old captain has only had 11 wins, a rate of less than 50%.
After Luciano Spalletti had to leave the chair, the Italian media cleared the way for "Weld" Claudio Ranieri to take over the hot seat. If he accepts to lead the national team, Ranieri will have the 25th time in his coaching career to take a new job. However, the 73-year-old strategist refused because he wanted to continue with AS Roma in the executive role. Last week, former Atalanta captain Gian Piero Gasperini took over the coaching position of the Olimpico team, replacing Ranieri himself as interim manager for a while.
Ranieri was appointed in November 2024 when AS Roma was ranked 16th in Serie A. After that, he finished the season with the capital team in 5th place, exactly 1 point behind the UEFA Champions League position.
Not only did Ranieri reject the Italian national team, they also turned down Cagliari last month after they won promotion from Serie B in 2023. In his coaching career, Ranieri is famous for the miraculous Premier League championship with Leicester City in 2016. In addition, he has also won the UEFA Super Cup, Coppa Italia and Copa Del Rey in his career.
In his career, Ranieri has led many teams such as Napoli, Fiorentina, Atletico Madrid, Valencia, Chelsea, Parma, Juventus, AS Roma, Inter Milan, AS Monaco, sampdoria, Watford, the Greek national team, ...
Ranieri's refusal to take over the Azzurri is a big blow to the Football Federation of this country (FIGC) because the "Welder" performance in the second half of the 2024-2025 season is very impressive. In Europe's top five leagues, only Barcelona in La Liga had more points than AS Roma at the time.
Therefore, AS Roma fans are determined to keep Ranieri at the club even though he is no longer directly coaching. Ranieri takes on the executive role for The Friedkin Group. He was an important voice in appointing Gian Piero Gasperini and had a plan to support his colleagues.
