After weeks of speculation and hints, the final confirmation came on August 18. Luciano Spalletti has been named the next coach of Italy’s national soccer team. Following Roberto Mancini’s departure, the Italian federation saw the Tuscan coach as the finest contender to fill the now-vacant role.
Why is a breath of fresh air beneficial?
The final deal has been struck between the Tuscan coach and the president of the Soccer Association, Gabriele Gravina. Spalletti will take office on September 1 and will be under contract until the World Cup in 2026. The Tuscan coach, who left Napoli after winning the Scudetto, takes over for Roberto Mancini, who resigned on August 13. The new coach was chosen fast because the National team is currently preparing for two crucial matches for Euro 2024 qualification in September.
The Italian Soccer Federation announces that it has reached an agreement with Luciano Spalletti for the position of Technical Commissioner of the Italian National Team. — according to an interview with Roberto Gravina (President of the FIGC). The Tuscan coach will take over on September 1, 2023, and the official presentation will take place at the Federal Technical Center of Coverciano during the Azzurri meeting, which is set for early September.”
Luciano Spalletti performed all the duties of a coach. After hanging up the boots in 1993, he quickly progressed from the C to the A series. He was named “Best Coach of the Serie A 2022-2023” and his name is now synonymous with success. After the fatal venture, he is on everyone’s lips. He restored a smile to the streets of Naples and honored Diego Maradona in the finest way possible: by taking his favorite team to paradise. The league was missing from the 1989–90 season when Diego was captain in the Stadio del Sole, which will be renamed Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in 2020.
The escape clause
With Luciano Spalletti, the Italian national team enters a new era. The choice is finally final, and the news is official, but there are still some loose ends to be untied.
Following a farewell to Napoli that resulted in the championship, the coach signed a clause. It stipulated paying a price (beginning at 3 million euros and increasing in subsequent months) to the Neapolitan club if it wanted to return to sit on any bench by June 30.
[…] I’ve always had a lot of respect for the National Team, and when I was younger, it was the only team I cared about besides Napoli. Despite having a year left on his contract with Napoli, Luciano Spalletti expressed his desire to take a break from coaching after winning the Scudetto because he was “very tired.” I didn’t say anything because I was grateful for the work, even though I could have requested him to follow the contract. I gave him permission to take this long time of relaxation. – Aurelio de Laurentiis
Listening to the voice and feelings of the millions of Napoli fans who have a deep connection with the coach of the team Campione d’Italia, I asked for guarantees on the respect of this sabbatical, inserting a penalty in the event that his commitment had failed. – Aurelio de Laurentiis
The president of Naples, Aurelio De Laurentiis, thus intervenes in this complex dialogue. The provision does not appear to be an issue of vil money but of principle in the eyes of millions of Naples supporters and others.
Both sides’ lawyers are looking into the situation. A conciliation is unlikely because the president of Naples has not backed down, especially after the statement of the FIGC president, Gabriele Gravina, who tried to persuade De Laurentiis to release Spalletti. We’ll have to wait and watch how things progress. The interpretation appears destined for a court, which will have to decide who is correct and who is mistaken. However, time will not be on our side.
