Claudio Ranieri appointed Italy national team director | OneFootball

Claudio Ranieri has outlined an ambitious plan for the future of Italian football after taking on the role of Italy’s new national team technical director.

This comes after Italy surprisingly approved Roberto Mancini’s return as head coach.

The veteran coach believes Italy’s path back to the top of world football starts with developing better young players rather than focusing only on short-term success.

Ranieri’s new role comes after a brief spell as AS Roma manager in 2024/25. He oversaw 36 games and led Roma to a fifth-placed finish in Serie A while averaging 2.03 points per match (PPM).

The Giallorossi narrowly missed out on a place in the Champions League after finishing just one point behind fourth-placed Juventus.

As technical director, Ranieri will now oversee the structure of Italy’s national teams and help shape the future of the game across all age groups. 

His main objective is to rebuild the connection between the national team and its supporters while creating a stronger foundation for future generations of players.

One of his biggest priorities is changing how young footballers are coached. 

Ranieri believes Italian football has become too focused on tactics at an early age, while other countries are producing players with better technical skills and greater confidence on the ball.

He wants youth coaches to place more importance on dribbling, creativity and individual ability, especially for children between the ages of 10 and 12. 

“My goal is for the fans to fall in love with the ‘Azzurri’ again and for children, like my 12-year-old grandson, to be able to see Italy in a World Cup,” Ranieri said (via TyC Sports).

“We are very good at tactics, but the others dribble. We win in lower categories through tactical discipline, but we need to return to individual technique; children have to learn how to handle the ball.”

Ranieri also highlighted affordability as another important issue facing youth football.

He warned that rising costs are making it harder for many children to join football academies, while others are choosing different forms of entertainment instead of playing the sport.

“We can’t allow that to happen today,” he added. “Children are turning to other games, and we must reconnect them with football by trying to lower the prices of sports academies.”