Christian Vieri Backs Roberto Mancini to Revive Italy After Chaotic Coaching Search

Christian Vieri believes his former teammate and manager Roberto Mancini is the right man to revive Italy after the country’s football federation reappointed their European Championship-winning boss to conclude an extraordinarily chaotic head coach hunt.

In Hong Kong for his old club Inter Milan’s clash with Manchester City at Kai Tak Stadium on Saturday, Vieri also said it was only a matter of time before China stages the World Cup.

Reportedly rejected by Carlo Ancelotti and Pep Guardiola, the Italian Football Federation appeared poised to turn to Andrea Pirlo, the former AC Milan midfielder, to replace Gennaro Gattuso, who quit following Italy’s failure to qualify for this summer’s edition in North America.

But Pirlo’s sponsorship deal with a Russian betting company thwarted that plan, and led to Paolo Maldini, another Milan legend, quitting after just 16 days as technical director. Maldini’s adviser, Leonardo, also walked. Ex-Leicester City boss Claudio Ranieri has replaced Maldini.

The owner of 49 international caps, Vieri said Italy coaches had been hamstrung by a long-standing lack of attention to youth development in the country, but that in Mancini they had hired a man who is “an amazing coach, who understands the importance of allowing young players to play”.

“That’s very hard to do in Italy,” Vieri told the South China Morning Post. “If a player isn’t playing for his club, but [Mancini] likes him, he’ll still call him. He’s a good fit for the Italian team.”