Yesterday the Italian football federation got together to officially elect the FIGC president. Giovanni Malago was named president with 68.5% of the vote by the federation. Malago was the runaway favourite ever since the firing of Gabriele Gravina after the Azzurri failed to qualify for the World Cup.

Now, that Malago has officially been made the president of the FIGC he needs to begin appointments around him. The first task will be a new manager for the Azzurri since the firing of Gennaro Gattuso alongside Gravina. Roberto Mancini has been in poll position for recent weeks with most publications linking him with the job.

Mancini has already had the job of Azzurri previously from 2018-2023 where he took them to a Euros win in the summer of 2021. However, he is not the only candidate with previous experience with the job, with Antonio Conte also being watched. This comes from a new report from Sport Mediaset.

Roberto Mancini, Head Coach of Italy celebrates with The Henri Delaunay Trophy following his team’s victory in the UEFA Euro 2020 Championship Final…

It is believed that Antonio Conte left Napoli after this season in the hopes of taking the Azzurri job. However, the decision will now come down to Malago to decide who will lead the national team into the nations league later this year. His decision will likely be supported by the new sporting director he will appoint.

A new Sporting Director

Paolo Maldini was the leading name for the sporting director role, one he had previously had at AC Milan and had succeeded in. However, Sport Mediaset is now reporting that he has turned down that role offered to him. This will lead Malago looking for new names for the role.

Milan Director Paolo Maldini looks on during an AC Milan training session at Milanello on May 18, 2023 in Cairate, Italy.

Nico Schira is reporting the alternatives via youtube. Roberto Baggio is the first name, linked to the role who applied a project to the FIGC before focused on youth development in December of 2011. This project was denied and seen as unrealistic which saw him step away from the FIGC.

Claudio Ranieri has also been linked to the job, and will likely have a similar proposition to Baggio. One that is focused on youth development, and growing the juniors into the game to help rebuild the Azzurri. Gianluigi Buffon has also been in talks for the role. He has worked for the FIGC before coaching with Gattuso, but his plans for the future of the Azzurri is unknown to most.

Tuesday saw more embarrassment for the Azzurri in World Cup qualifying as they will miss out on a third straight World Cup. This came after Italy lost to Bosnia on penalties away in Zenica in a game where winning would have taken them to the World Cup. The Azzurri failing to qualify means that they will miss the World Cup three times in a row.

Gabriele Gravina has been the president leading the FIGC for two of these World Cups, after taking the position in October of 2018. However, his term is now up according to Nico Schira on X, who claims that he is ready to resign from the role. This comes as majority of Azzurri fans are calling for change in the federation.

Gravina will likely be the first of many FIGC members to step down or change roles in the coming months. However, according to Schira, Gravina is not the only key figure ready to leave. Gennaro Gattuso is ready to step down as well from his position as head coach of the national team.

This has lead to the search for replacements for both figures have already begun with two key names already looking to take the president job. The leading name for the position currently is Giovanni Malagò, who was the President for this years Milan Cortina, Olympics and Paralympics.

Giovanni Malago, President of Milano Cortina 2026 makes a speech during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympic Games opening ceremony at Arena di…

However, their is also the possibility of Giancarlo Abate returning to the position. Abete was the FIGC president for a seven year period between 2007 and 2014, before being replaced. Ever since then he has stayed in his role as vice president for UEFA, but could return now if Malago doesn’t get the position.

The head coach will likely be a former name taking the place of Gennaro Gattuso. This comes as the dream name for the Azzurri right now is Antonio Conte. Conte leaving Napoli is unlikely, him leaving for the Azzurri job is more unlikely. Roberto Mancini has said he is open to the job, while Allegri is also a attractive unrealistic option for the FIGC if they don’t sign Conte.

The Italian national team, still has a chance to qualify for this years World Cup, through the playoffs. Their is added pressure for Gattuso and his men, as missing this tournament would be the third in the role. This has lead a lot of selecting pressure on Gattuso and the rest of his team.

Gattuso looks to be learning from some of the mistakes from former coaches, by picking younger players over older ones. Marco Palestra has been linked to a call up, but Antonio Vergara will unfortantley miss out. Vergara picked up an injury and will be out for a month, making him unavailable for the upcoming playoffs.

According to Corriere Dello Sport, Gattuso will have another difficult decision to make. Davide Frattesi has been a staple for recent national team selections. However, he has struggled for minutes lately under new head coach Cristian Chivu. This has put him in doubt with Gattuso.

Davide Frattesi of FC Internazionale is in action during the Coppa Italia Semi Final First Leg football match between Como 1907 and FC Internazionale…

This could lead Gattuso to picking a younger replacement for Frattesi. Nicolo Pisilli has been in top form for AS Roma in recent months which could see him being called up. Pisilli could be a good choice for Gattuso as he has a more attacking profile than Frattesi.

Pisilli would work better with the rest of the squads rotation likely; Sandro Tonali, Manuel Locatelli, Nicolo Barella, Bryan Cristante and Marco Verratti. However, it is not impossible to see both picked, as Gattuso could decide to pick seven central midfielders which would see the two called up.