🇮🇹 Ranieri opens door to Italy job! Right man? Pros 👍 and cons 👎 | OneFootball

He is the man of fairytales, at least football ones. From the historic Premier League title won with Leicester to the double miracle with Cagliari, passing through Roma, where in 2010 he came very close to winning the Scudetto after an incredible comeback. In Claudio Ranieri’s career, impossible feats have almost become a specialty. And perhaps that is exactly why his name is now making noise again around the National Team.

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Last night, speaking to Sky Sport during the “Gianni Di Marzio” Award, Sir Claudio opened up for the first time in concrete terms to the possibility of becoming the new Italy head coach: “I said no because I was committed to Roma and I couldn’t have two jobs; at this point I’m free.” Words that come in the middle of the earthquake that has hit Italian football with yet another failure to qualify for the World Cup and the resignation of now former FIGC president Gabriele Gravina. 

Because after the heaviest failure in recent Azzurri history, Italy is desperately searching for someone capable of rebuilding technical and emotional rubble. And few coaches in European football evoke the idea of a “mission impossible” quite like Ranieri. 

WHY YES ✅

If there is one name capable of immediately restoring credibility and calm to the National Team, it is precisely the former Roma boss. Not only because of his palmarès, but because of what he represents: the man of great feats, the coach who turned Leicester into an eternal fairytale and who has always had a very rare quality in his career, that of getting into the players’ heads even before stepping into the dressing room.

And that is perhaps exactly what Italy needs today. The Azzurri are looking for a figure who can also bring a lost group back together, ease the pressure and restore confidence to a team that is fragile in decisive moments. From this point of view, Ranieri would be an almost natural choice: endless experience, recognized leadership and a human approach that in the role of head coach could become decisive. 

There is also a symbolic aspect. In an Italian football scene desperately searching for certainties, choosing Ranieri would mean relying on a reassuring figure, respected by everyone and capable, once again, of making people believe in the impossible.

WHY NO ❌

At the same time, Ranieri’s candidacy also inevitably brings some doubts. Starting with his age and the kind of project the FIGC wants to build: Ranieri will turn 75 this year and his would be a choice of immediate experience rather than a bet on the future. After years of changes and failures, does Italy need a man for the emergency or a head coach truly capable of opening up a new cycle?

Then there is the issue of playing style. Ranieri has always been a pragmatic coach, extraordinary in managing difficult moments, but rarely associated with innovative or dominant football. And for a National Team that has struggled for years to create a technical identity, his appointment could be seen as a choice that is more reassuring than revolutionary.

Finally, one question remains: does Ranieri really want to put himself back under pressure this enormous? In recent years he had spoken several times about retirement and about experiencing football differently. Returning to the Azzurri bench now would mean stepping into the most delicate moment in the National Team’s recent history.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.

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