LUCIANO Spalletti, the former Napoli manager who got the best out of Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen, will stay on as Italy head coach even after a disappointing Euro 2024 European Championship campaign.
Under Spalletti, who guided Napoli to their first Serie A title in 33 years last year with Osimhen as the top scorer, defending champions Italy won only one group stage match at Euro 2024 and were eliminated in the round of 16 yesterday by Switzerland.
Italian Football Federation (FIGC) President Gabriele Gravina confirmed today that Spalletti still has the trust of the body and will continue to lead the Azzurri.
Gravina, who also faces an uncertain future with FIGC elections set for March next year, confirmed that there were lengthy discussions with Spalletti after the tepid 2-0 loss to Switzerland loss last night.
He did, however, state that it would be ‘unthinkable’ to dismiss Spalletti less than a year after his appointment.
“We have nothing to hide, but we must continue to take responsibility. There was a long chat with the coach yesterday and I think that it is unthinkable to solve the problems by abandoning a multi-year project after eight to nine months,” Gravina told the media at his press conference in Germany today.
“Central to our project is a coach who has been here for nine to 10 months, who has not always had all the players available. Our trust has to work as there is already a new challenge in 60 days’ time.”
Italy will next be in action against France in the UEFA Nations League on September 6.
The 65-year-old Spalletti is contracted to the Italian federation until 2026 and he is now expected to take charge of the team’s World Cup qualifying campaign as they seek to avoid missing out on the Mundial for a third consecutive time.
