"Time was running short and I believed that the right person as head coach had to be Roberto Mancini." This is how Giovanni Malagò officially announced his choice - as previewed by ANSA - regarding the Italy national team manager.
With Mancini as head coach, Claudio Ranieri will also join the national team setup: this was announced by the federation president. "I needed someone to share the choice of head coach with, because without that, my reasoning would have carried little weight. I needed a person who would become technical director and president of Club Italia. That person, with whom these decisions have been shared, is Claudio Ranieri, who a few minutes ago confirmed his commitment to me and is on his way from Calabria."
"An agreement had been reached with Pirlo," then "developments led me to no longer endorse this candidacy. It is a matter of expediency," and "with Maldini the separation took place without controversy." This was stated by FIGC president Giovanni Malagò. "I take responsibility for having halted the process of choosing Andrea Pirlo. He would have terminated the contract with the company he was an ambassador for, however, for a whole series of reasons and circumstances, I did not feel it was right," he added. "Neither I nor, it appears, the technical director knew about the Russian contract."
"Mancini is the choice of a quality coach, made by the president and I believe in agreement with the technical director." This was stated by LND president Giancarlo Abete upon leaving the federal council. "Is Serie A in agreement? That should be asked to Simonelli, who was attending remotely," he added. "The indication was clear, the choice identified and communicated by Malagò. There were no other options. We are talking about a coach who won the European Championship with the national team," he continued. When asked about the technical director, he concluded: "Ask those who choose him - it was not discussed in the council."
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