Italy shocked everyone by appointing new head coach

Former football star Gennaro Gattuso was unexpectedly appointed by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) as head coach of the national team, replacing Mr. Luciano Spalletti.

Mr. Gattuso is famous for his strong personality - Photo: REUTERS

Contrary to initial predictions, FIGC has chosen coach Gennaro Gattuso to replace Luciano Spalletti - who left the Italian team right after the win against Moldova in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

This is considered an extremely bold decision by the FIGC. Tuttomercato newspaper commented: "This decision is completely unexpected", while Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper commented: "This is a challenge, Gattuso may be strong, but he has not yet made a clear mark as a coach".

Football fans must still not forget the name Gattuso, who was given nicknames like "madman" or "rhino" because of his fierce style when he was playing football.

Gattuso is best known for his 13-year spell at AC Milan. He also made 73 appearances for his country.

Gattuso was once considered the strongest midfielder in Italian football, the perfect complement to the artistry of Andrea Pirlo, his close teammate at AC Milan and the Italian national team.

Gattuso also pursued a coaching career quite early, right after retiring in 2013. He has led big teams such as AC Milan, Napoli, Valencia, Marseille...

However, Gattuso has barely achieved any significant results. Compared to some of his former teammates (like Inzaghi or Seedorf), the 47-year-old former midfielder is highly regarded for his leadership ability, but his career has gradually declined after an impressive start.

In 2020, Gattuso led Napoli to the Italian Cup, but was fired a year later. He slipped further in the following years, and to this day is still not considered a truly good coach.

The FIGC's choice of Gattuso as Italy's head coach is truly surprising, because Italian football still has many more talented and experienced strategists. Messrs. Claudio Ranieri and Stefano Pioli are considered the leading candidates to replace Spalletti.

Gattuso is known for his strong personality, which is loved by the media, but is also feared to be counterproductive for a team with a complex backroom like the Italian team.

In the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, Italy was in the same group as Norway, Israel, Estonia and Moldova. After 2 matches, they only got 3 points, almost losing the chance to compete for the top spot in the group after losing 0-3 to Norway in the first match.

If they continue to fail, Italy will miss the World Cup for the third consecutive time, after failures in qualifying for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tuyen-y-gay-soc-khi-bo-nhiem-hlv-truong-moi-20250615115546604.htm