Roberto Mancini resigns as Italy’s soccer coach after disappointing tenure

Italy soccer manager Roberto Mancini shockingly resigned from the men’s national team Sunday, just 10 months out from the 2024 Euro Cup.

The resignation comes as a bit of a surprise, since Mancini had been relatively successful with 39 wins, 13 draws and nine defeats as Italy’s coach.

But the team didn’t qualify for the 2022 World Cup under Mancini after not qualifying in 2018 under Gian Piero Ventura, marking the country’s first two absences in the tournament since 1958.

The Italian soccer federation announced a new coach would be announced “in the coming days,” but it’s unknown how long that search will take.

The expectation is the new coach will be named before Italy’s upcoming matches Sept. 10 and Sept. 12 against North Macedonia and Ukraine, respectively.

Italy lost to North Macedonia on a last-second goal in March 2022, a semifinal loss that prevented it from qualifying, and signifying a major shakeup in global soccer.

“I feel that just as last July was the best thing I experienced at a professional level, this is the greatest disappointment,” Mancini said following the loss while referencing their European Championship victory, according to the Associated Press. “Soccer is like that, sometimes incredible things happen.”

Italy was victorious in that 2021 Euro Cup, defeating England in penalty kicks, and also claimed third place at the Nations League finals in June.

The Azzurri last won the World Cup in 2006 and have not advanced out of group stage play since, having been eliminated in the group stage in both 2010 and 2014.

“A significant page in the history of the Azzurri, which began in May 2018 and ended with the 2023 Nations League Finals, comes to an end,” the Italian Football Federation said in a statement.