Luciano Spalletti has stepped down as Italy’s head coach after two turbulent years. Taking his place is Claudio Ranieri, seen by many as the ideal figure to restore identity, calm, and ambition to the Azzurri.
There’s no need to wait for Italy-Moldova to say it: Luciano Spalletti is no longer the manager of the national team. The confirmation came directly from Spalletti himself, in an emotional press conference that ended with a lump in his throat.
It had been in the air for a while—and now it’s official. Spalletti is out of a role that, truth be told, never quite seemed to fit him. He took it on with passion and his usual energy, but he never found the formula to turn a collection of players into a cohesive unit, or to mold a tactical idea into a true team. Two years of controversies, flashy statements, long faces, and barely concealed tensions. Spalletti brought with him into the national setup everything he had been at club level: brilliant, passionate, sensitive to criticism, impulsive. But also worn down by relationships and unable to build a clear identity within the limited timeframes of international football.
And that’s the crux of the matter. Spalletti is not a national team manager. He’s a hands-on coach, someone who thrives on daily contact with his players to instill his footballing vision. At a club, he can sculpt, refine, and keep refining. With a national team, that’s not possible. In international football, you have to make choices, unite a group, and set a direction in very little time. You need balance, vision—but above all, the ability to quickly build trust. And that’s where Spalletti fell short.
Italy now needs a different kind of figure. And both fans on social media and the FIGC have already landed on the same name: Claudio Ranieri.
Yes, him. The gentleman of the touchline who retires, returns, retires again—and now, maybe, returns once more. A man who appeared to have walked away from the game at least twice in the last twelve months: first after miraculously saving Cagliari from relegation, and then after leading Roma back into Europe with a 46-point second half of the season—championship form, really. But apparently, the word “end” still has no place in Claudio Ranieri’s story. Today, he looks ready to answer the most important call of his life—with the serenity and humility of someone who knows the magnitude of the challenge and has nothing left to prove.
Ranieri, by background and by temperament, is the perfect national team coach. A calm but authoritative leader, a man who commands respect without raising his voice. A coach who understands the value of group dynamics, who prioritizes unity over formations. He has the charisma to instill identity and a sense of belonging in the Italian team. And the possibility of a dual role—as Italy’s manager and personal advisor to the Friedkin ownership at Roma—doesn’t appear to compromise his clarity or integrity.
Today, Ranieri seems like the one figure who can bring everyone together: the Federation, the fans, the media, and the locker room. He’s the “yes man” in the best sense of the word—ready to accept when everyone else seems to have lost the will or the courage. He could be the missing piece needed to restore calm to the Italian setup and perhaps build a team worthy of returning to the World Cup after two consecutive editions spent watching from the couch. From his perspective, ending his coaching career on the bench of the Italian national team at a World Cup would be the perfect capstone to a long, successful journey. Not just a lifetime achievement award—but that too.
Spalletti exits like a restless artist. Ranieri is ready to step in like a wise old master, with plenty still to teach—and a dream to pursue, both for himself and for Italian football: the dream of the (American) World Cup.
And if it’s true that in life—and in football—you have to know when to say goodbye, it’s also true that some stories are written to begin again. Ranieri knows that. And with him, Italy may finally be ready to chase that American dream.
L’articolo Spalletti Out, Ranieri Ready: Italy Changes Course to Chase the American Dream proviene da Soccer Made In Italy.
