The manager of the Under-21 national team has always been held in high regard by fellow coaches, but opposed by politicians. He is a forward-thinking manager, a trailblazer in his day. He has a rare talent for working with young players. He has demonstrated this once again with the Azzurri

The team coached by Roberto Mancini won 3–1 against the Turkish national side. It was a rather scrappy match, but one in which the Italian players’ determination to win was evident. Compared with the recent past, this is a new development

Manager Roberto Mancini’s team played as a unit and, for at least fifty minutes (not consecutive), performed very well. The question is: is it all down to the Azzurri, or is this Turkish side simply a modest one that was poorly organised on the pitch?

The men’s national football team makes its Nations League debut against Belgium. The restoration of the ‘Mancien Régime’ is underway – ever new and elegant, just as the manager has always been able to reinvent himself time and again throughout his many careers as a coach

The national team will not be entrusted to the former Milan and Juventus midfielder. Contacts with a Russian club with close ties to the Kremlin, doubts about his coaching track record and the debate over the future of the national team have led politicians and supporters to discuss merit, responsibility and appropriateness rather than football allegiances

Paolo Maldini and Leonardo approached Carlo Ancelotti and went to court Pep Guardiola. They’ve set their sights on the very best. They could turn to Andrea Pirlo for a project aimed at restoring the national team to its former glory within 8 to 10 years

When the former national team manager’s idea was made public, we all expressed skepticism. But it might be the right choice because what matters is a truly shared vision, a management team willing to defend it against the firing squad of public opinion, and a genuine rebuilding of Club Italia

The national team cannot afford prestigious apprenticeships, friend-and-favourite pickings or nostalgia-driven moves. Guardiola is the dream, Mancini is the memory, Pirlo is the gamble. Antonio Conte is the solution. The call is not merely to choose him. It is to convince him, for once, not to behave like Conte