Italy’s Roberto Mancini has quit as coach of his country’s football team and could take over as manager of Saudi Arabia’s national squad, according to Arabic-language sports daily Arriyadiyah.
The news outlet quotes unnamed sources as saying that Mancini, 58, would likely take up the role vacated by Frenchman Herve Renard — who has not been replaced by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation since his departure in March — and is now manager of his nation’s women’s team.
Monday night the Italian Football Federation announced Mancini’s resignation.
On Tuesday in a number of interviews with Italian newspapers, Mancini said that he made no decision about his future, and that a potential move to the Saudi Arabia national team was not the reason for his decision to quit Italy.
“I’m a football manager and when I receive an offer that I like I will accept it. But that’s not why I quit the national team,” said Mancini to Corriere Dello Sport.
“Italy was always the number one for me. After many years I’ve received plenty of offers which I will look at in the coming weeks but right now there is nothing solid.
“I’m a manager and I can’t just stop... but Saudi Arabia has nothing to do with it.”
Mancini’s resignation comes as a major shock, as earlier this month the 58-year-old had been handed responsibility for the country’s Under-21 and Under-20 teams.
But Mancini said that he stepped down as Azzurri coach because of disagreements with the head of Italy’s football federation Gabriele Gravina, in particular over his decision to make changes to his coaching staff.
“Have you ever seen the head of the federation change a manager’s coaching staff? I’m the one who should be making changes,” he said to La Repubblica.
“The truth is that we’ve been on a different wavelength for a while. But why make changes to my staff? At that point he should have sacked me... if he wanted to keep me, he could have. but he didn’t want to.”
The former Sampdoria player led his country to the Euro 2020 title after beating England on penalties at Wembley.
If confirmed, Mancini would become the 49th coach of the Saudi national team, the 19th European and the first Italian.
The first order of business for the coach would be the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, starting in November, in which Saudi Arabia will take on Jordan, Tajikistan, and either Cambodia or Pakistan.
