Italian Football Federation president Gabriele Gravina has backed Roberto Mancini and hopes that the manager will stay in his post despite the Azzurri crashing out of World Cup qualifying.
The European champions were heavy favourites to beat North Macedonia in Palermo, which would have set-up a play-off decider against Portugal with a place in Qatar on offer to the victor. But for all of their dominance on the night, Italy were dumped out when Aleksandar Trajkovski scored a dramatic injury-time winner.
The shock defeat comes less than a year after lifting the European Championship, with Mancini’s side beating England on penalties in the Wembley final. In the immediate aftermath of the trophy lift, the former Man City boss was handed a new contract, ensuring he would stay in the post until at least 2026.
But having missed out on a place at the World Cup, question marks have now been raised in regards to Mancini’s position moving forward, asked about his future shortly after the full-time whistle, Mancini said: “We will see. Now I feel too disappointed to speak about my future, we will see. I’m sure this team has a great future. I’m supporting these players now more than ever."
Italy’s exit has also heightened the possibility of Manchester United launching an approach for Mancini, who pipped Sir Alex Ferguson to the title back in 2012. Shortly after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer ’s sacking, the 57-year-old was touted as a “wildcard” option to be the next boss, with United still going through the process to make an appointment this summer.
Speaking shortly after those initial rumours went public, Mancini ruled himself out of the running, insisting his only aim was to secure World Cup qualification. But with that now out of reach, the prospect of bringing him to Old Trafford could be back on the cards.
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However, as far as the Italian FA are concerned, Mancini is still the man to guide the national team forward once the “unexpected bitterness” has cleared.
"When you are part of the world of sport you need to accept these verdicts," Gravina said. "The joy of the European Championship remains but now this unexpected bitterness has arrived, perhaps an undeserved result but this is football.
"There is a project, and we will react. We must go ahead with our heads held high, protect our affection for our national team. Some mistakes have been made and we need to understand their nature.
"I hope Mancini will immediately dispose of the bitterness we all have and continue, because he has a commitment with us.” Instead of pointing the blame at the man in the dugout, Gravina has pointed at structural changes needed within the Italian game, having now missed out on the last two World Cups.
"This result tells us that there is something to be done in our football, beyond reforms or formats," he added. "We begin to wonder if our youngsters should play more in our leagues. In the Primavera [Italian youth competition], only 30% of Italian players are used.
"I'm saddened that the players only saw each other for a day to prepare for this game, but I don't want to enter a controversy. There are business interests linked to club management, legitimate, and regarding the national team, there is always great resistance from the clubs. The national team is seen more as a nuisance than as a moment of union for an entire country."
