Former Italy national team head coach Cesare Prandelli stated that a new revolution has begun under Roberto Mancini following a positive start to his second spell in charge, as reported in an interview. Prandelli praised Mancini’s faith in youth and discussed the contrasting fortunes of recent managers.
The Azzurri’s international break featured a 2-0 home defeat to Belgium—which included a disastrous first half followed by an encouraging second-half turnaround—alongside a 4-1 away win against Turkey, a 1-1 draw away to France, and a 3-1 home victory against Turkey in Bologna. During this stretch, Mancini handed debuts to seven new players: Alessandro Romano, Michael Kayode, Matteo Ruggeri, Issa Doumbia, Mohamed Ali Zoma, Sebastiano Esposito and Antonio Vergara. These additions bring Mancini’s total to 64 debutants handed out across his two spells.
Prandelli on the Azzurri Revolution
Speaking in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport on Wednesday, Prandelli described the current direction as an unstoppable shift. The revolution has begun, there’s no going back. We’re no longer the benchmark and we have to recognise that. But, if we work with our youngsters, get rid of archaic systems and give more weight to technical players, we will become great again,
Prandelli said.
Prandelli also expressed curiosity regarding Mancini’s tactical adjustments during the Belgium match, noting that he would like to know what was said at half-time to transform the team’s performance. He credited the subsequent improvements to Mancini’s vision and courage.
Defending Gattuso’s Reign
While praising the current setup, Prandelli offered sympathy for former Italy head coach Gennaro Gattuso, noting that his predecessor faced difficult circumstances. According to Prandelli, Gattuso was operating in a state of emergency to qualify and lacked the time or resources to invest in younger players. Highlighting how circumstances differ under Mancini, Prandelli noted that Bastoni was sent off under him, he scored twice this time around
while pointing out that Rino was also a bit unlucky.
