It's official, Gattuso is the new national coach. Gravina: he is a symbol of Italian football

2006 World Cup winner Gennaro Gattuso is the new coach of the Italian national football team.

"Gattuso is a symbol of Italian football, the blue for him is like a second skin": thus, the number 1 of the FIGC, Gabriele Gravina, making official the nomination of Gennaro Gattuso as the new coach of Italy.

"His motivations, his professionalism and his experience will be fundamental to best face the upcoming commitments of the National Team - underlined the president of the Football Federation, making official the appointment of the technical commissioner -. Aware of the importance of the objective we want to achieve, I thank him for the availability and total dedication with which he has accepted this challenge, sharing the FIGC project for the overall development of our football, in which the blue jersey plays a strategic central role".

The FIGC was looking for a coach with specific characteristics: someone who in September, in just a few training sessions, could rekindle the group, make them understand the importance and weight of the blue jersey and achieve, also with a sense of belonging that has always distinguished the National team, qualification for the 2026 World Cup.

Federation President Gabriele Gravina said there is no more time to waste and qualification is mandatory: with Gattuso's grit and experience, Italy will try.

Gattuso is in 21st place in the ranking of the most present Azzurri, he has been called up 87 times and has played 73 matches, a player attached to the blue shirt: ''I suffered after leaving home when I was young but every time I wore the blue shirt and the national anthem was played, I remembered all my childhood'', 'Ringhio' said some time ago in an interview. He who won the World Cup in Germany in 2006 but who risked losing, missing the first two matches due to injury: at a time when players refuse to be called up due to problems with the coach or more or less serious injuries, Gattuso would not have wanted to miss the matches against Ghana and the United States due to an injury to the quadriceps of his right leg. ''I'm so sorry not to be there, when I found out I wanted to cry. For me, missing two games is a lot, being out and watching my teammates without having the chance to lend a hand makes me very sad, even if I will try to be positive towards the group'', said the former midfielder from Casa Azzurri during the pre-World Cup of Marcello Lippi's team, who couldn't leave him out. Why? ''I tie myself to the bus with a rope and if they kick me out I'll go anyway'', underlined Gattuso, who now has the task of conveying to the group of players the importance of qualifying for the next World Cup but above all the importance of the Italian national team jersey. It's one thing to coach a club team and another to coach a national team. Former Italian footballers and coaches have repeated it like a mantra regarding the choice to rely on a coach without great successes at club level, where Gattuso as a coach has achieved fewer positive results than he has as a player, also because he has had a career as a great champion. With Milan, where he made 468 appearances in 14 seasons, he won 10 trophies: 5 in Italy with 2 Scudetti, 2 Italian Super Cups and 1 Italian Cup and 5 international ones with 2 Champions Leagues, 2 UEFA Super Cups and 1 Club World Cup.

His first life as a footballer, full of successes including a European Under 21 Championship in 2000, ends where his second life as a coach begins, in Sion: on 25 February 2013, the president of the Swiss club appointed 'Ringhio' as the new coach, still without a UEFA Pro license, only to be relieved after almost 3 months. In 2013 he returned to Italy where he first coached Palermo in Serie B, being fired after 8 seasonal games, and then Pisa from 2015, this time in C, where he remained for two years in which he brought the Tuscans back to the cadet league and said goodbye to them in last place with consequent relegation after a troubled season with many corporate problems. Between Sicily and Tuscany a move to Ofi Crete in the Greek Serie A, where he remained for 4 months and 17 games, before resigning. After his experience in Pisa, he returned to Milan as coach of the Primavera and was then promoted to coach of the first team during the 2017/2018 season, reaching the Coppa Italia final and qualifying for the Europa League thanks to a 7th place finish, finishing in 5th place the following year. In December 2019, he replaced the current Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti in Naples, where he remained for two seasons, winning a Coppa Italia, reaching 7th place in the first year and 5th in the second, failing to convince president Aurelio De Laurentiis to renew his contract. Then more experiences abroad, after a quick stint at Fiorentina, between Valencia and Marseille: in Spain he began the 2022/2023 season but after 22 games he consensually terminated his contract, in France he took over in September 2023 but was fired in February after 24 games. His last experience in Croatia at Hajduk Split: he would have liked to stay longer but due to problems with the management after 43 games and 20 victories in the season, with 3rd place in the championship, he left not without controversy.

Now the opportunity on the Azzurri bench where he will try to bring what has always distinguished him: seriousness, determination and pride, the recipes that led him to win a World Cup as a player, with the hope that they are the right ones to bring the Azzurri back to the World Cup.

"Italy called!". A tricolor, a red heart and a black one and underneath two photos of Gennaro Gattuso: with the blue jersey while his heart beats and in civilian clothes while he celebrates with all his grit as a coach and the writing: "Go Rino!". With this post, Milan has addressed a thought and an encouragement to Rino Gattuso, the new technical commissioner of the National team and former footballer and coach of Milan.