Mancini calls Di Biagio to join him in Saudi Arabia role | OneFootball

Former Italy caretaker coach Gigi Di Biagio has reportedly agreed to lead the Saudi Arabia Under-21 side, working alongside Roberto Mancini.

According to Sky Sport Italia, the 53-year-old will be formally appointed next week and was a specific request from Saudi Arabia boss Mancini to bolster the Italian management approach to the country’s football.

Saudi Arabia new chance for Di Biagio

Di Biagio was the Italy Under-21 coach from 2013 to 2019, with a brief spell also as interim senior Azzurri CT for two games in February and March 2018.

After that, he had only a very short experience as coach of SPAL in 2020 for 15 matches, then an even less impactful 10 games at Albanian team Dinamo City in 2023.

The highlight of his Azzurrini career was reaching the semi-final of the 2017 European Under-21 Championship, but otherwise crashed out in the group phase.

Mancini abruptly resigned as Italy coach in August 2023, taking the lucrative Saudi Arabia job just days later.

So far, he has overseen six wins, three draws and five defeats, reaching the 2023 Asian Cup Round of 16.