Italy confirm the appointment of Gennaro Gattuso as their new head coach of the national team following the dismissal of Luciano Spalletti.
Italy have confirmed the appointment of Gennaro Gattuso as their new head coach of the national team.
The 47-year-old replaces Luciano Spalletti who was relieved of his duties last weekend and took charge of his final match against Moldova (a 2-0 win) in 2026 World Cup qualifying on June 9.
Spalletti remarkably confirmed his own sacking at a press conference a day earlier after his team suffered a disappointing 3-0 defeat to Norway in their opening Group I fixture.
Claudio Ranieri was approached to succeed Spalletti, but the 73-year-old turned down the national team job in favour of staying at Roma in a senior advisory role.
Italy have now announced that Gattuso will be officially presented as their new has coach on June 19 at Hotel Parco dei Principi in Rome at 11.00am (CET).
Explaining why Gattuso was chosen to lead the national team, the President of the Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio (FIGC), Gabriele Gravina, said: “Gattuso is a symbol of Italian football, the shirt is like his second skin.
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“Gattuso is a symbol of Italian football”
“His motivations, professionalism and experience will be fundamental in taking on the next challenges of the National Team.
“He knows the importance of our objectives and I thank him for his readiness and dedication in accepting this challenges.
“He shares the FIGC’s project of the development of our football, in which the Azzurri shirt is a central part”.
Gattuso was capped 73 times for Italy and was a member of their 2006 World Cup-winning squad, while he also won two Serie A titles and two Champions League trophies during an illustrious 13-year career at AC Milan.
A tough-tacking, tenacious midfielder in his playing days, Gattuso also represented Perugia, Rangers, Salernitana and FC Sion, before hanging up his boots and stepping into club management with the latter for the first time in 2013.
Gattuso has since held several managerial positions since retiring, taking charge of Palermo, OFI Crete, Pisa, AC Milan, Napoli, Valencia, Marseille and most recently Hajduk Split, where he spent the 2024-25 season and led the Croatian side to a third-place finish in the top flight, winning 20 of his 46 games across all competitions.
Italy, ranked ninth in the world by FIFA, will resume 2026 World Cup qualifying in September when Gattuso will take charge of his first two matches at home to Estonia and away against Israel.
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