Roberto Mancini has walked back into one of football’s most emotional jobs. This time, the romance is thinner.

Italy have not reached a World Cup since 2014. For a country that treats football like family history, that is not a bad run. It is a national ache.

The 61-year-old has now been named Italy head coach for a second time. His task is blunt and heavy. He must drag the Azzurri back towards the top of international football.

FIGC president Giovanni Malago announced the decision on Tuesday, July 28, 2026. He also confirmed a major reset behind the scenes.

Claudio Ranieri has replaced Roberto Maldini as technical director. Maldini had reportedly opposed the idea of Mancini returning. He had also reportedly resisted Antonio Conte as an option.

That tells you the mood inside Italian football. This was not a neat appointment. It was a power call.

Mancini arrives with a glittering past and a complicated present. He previously coached Italy from 2018 to 2023. During that spell, he led them to the Euro 2020 title.

That triumph, won on penalties against England, gave Italy one of its great modern nights. Mancini also built a 37-match unbeaten streak. It made Italy look fresh, brave, and joined-up again.

But football rarely lets old glory travel without baggage.

Mancini resigned suddenly in the summer of 2023. He then took the Saudi Arabia job at a time when Italy were struggling in Euro 2024 qualification.

That move hurt his standing with many senior figures in the Italian federation. To some critics, it looked like he had left during a difficult spell.

His Saudi chapter did not last long. Mancini left that role after just 14 months. He later joined Qatari club Al-Sadd on a two-year deal last November.

Now he is back with Italy, and the Gulf angle gives this appointment extra weight for fans in the region.

For Saudi football, Mancini’s short stay remains part of a bigger learning curve. The Kingdom has spent heavily to lift its football profile. Bringing in a coach with European Championship pedigree showed ambition.

But national team football works differently from club football. Money can raise standards, attract attention, and improve infrastructure. It cannot quickly create chemistry, tournament experience, or a deep player pool.

Mancini’s return to Italy also underlines how connected Gulf football now is to the global coaching market. The same names move between Riyadh, Doha, Milan, Manchester, and Rome.

For Indian football fans in the Gulf, this story will feel familiar. Big coaches arrive with big reputations. The pressure starts from day one. Patience remains limited.

Italy’s pressure, though, has its own flavour. The Azzurri are four-time world champions. Yet they missed the 2018, 2022, and now 2026 World Cups.

That is three straight World Cup absences. It is hard to overstate how strange that looks in world football.

Italy last played at a World Cup in 2014. They have not played a knockout match at the tournament since winning the 2006 final against France on penalties.

Since then, the national team has lived between two extremes. There was the Euro 2020 high. There was also repeated World Cup failure.

Their title defence at Euro 2024 ended in the last 16 against Switzerland. Luciano Spalletti was in charge then. The defeat deepened the sense that Italy had lost direction again.

Gennaro Gattuso later took over, but his spell ended after a World Cup qualification play-off final defeat by Bosnia and Herzegovina in March. That result forced another reset.

Mancini was chosen ahead of Conte, another former Italy coach. Andrea Pirlo had also been tipped for the job.

Pirlo removed himself from the race on Monday. He had faced criticism over ties with a Russian sports-betting company. Critics also questioned whether his coaching record was strong enough.

Maldini reportedly wanted Thiago Motta, the Brazil-born former Italy midfielder, to get the role. Instead, the federation went for experience, name value, and familiarity.

That choice carries obvious advantages. Mancini knows the Italian setup. He has handled tournament pressure. He has won at club and international level.

His club record still commands respect. He won three straight Serie A titles with Inter Milan between 2005 and 2008.

He also led Manchester City to their first English league title since 1968. That famous final-day win over QPR in the 2011-12 Premier League season became part of modern football folklore.

But Italy are not hiring a memory. They are hiring a coach for a repair job.

The immediate challenge is trust. Mancini must convince players, officials, and supporters that he has returned with full commitment.

He must also work smoothly with Ranieri. That pairing will matter. Italy need more than a touchline voice. They need a football plan.

The player pathway, squad balance, and style of play all need clarity. Italy cannot live forever on nostalgia and defensive pride.

For sponsors and broadcasters, an Italy revival would matter too. A strong Azzurri side brings global audience pull. It lifts friendly matches, qualifiers, merchandise, and tournament interest.

For the Gulf, it could also affect event tourism. Italy remain a major football brand. When elite teams play friendlies or train in the region, fans travel, hotels benefit, and sponsors notice.

That is why this appointment is not just an Italian football story. It sits inside a wider sports economy that now links Europe and the Gulf more closely than ever.

Mancini’s Saudi and Qatar stops make him a familiar figure in that circuit. His Italy return shows that Gulf experience no longer sits outside the main football conversation.

Still, reputations will not decide this chapter. Results will.

Italian fans will forgive the past if he wins. They will not forgive another failed cycle. The national team has already spent too long watching World Cups from home.

Mancini’s second Italy spell begins with ceremony on Wednesday, when he and Ranieri are due to face the press. After that, the hard work starts.

The story is simple now. A coach who once restored Italy’s pride must do it again. Only this time, he returns to a dressing room, federation, and fan base carrying more doubt than devotion.