Roberto Mancini vows to rebuild Italy’s trust with ‘good football and control’

Roberto Mancini says he wants to regain the confidence of Italy supporters who feel “betrayed” and restore the national team to its rightful place after returning as head coach.

Mancini was speaking on Monday at Coverciano, where Italy are preparing for their Nations League match against Belgium on Friday. It was his first news conference since returning to the Azzurri.

“I feel grateful. I want to regain the trust of those who feel betrayed, and I want to win,” said Mancini.

The former Saudi Arabia and Manchester City manager acknowledged that supporters have understandable reasons to be angry after Italy’s recent disappointments. The team have missed the last three World Cup tournaments in succession, according to Spanish newspaper Marca.

Mancini believes the only way to repair that relationship is by producing results and ensuring Italy perform properly on the pitch.

“If a fan feels betrayed, they may be angry, and that is understandable,” he said. “To regain their trust, we have to do things correctly and bring the national team back to its normal position.”

Despite the difficulties facing the team, Mancini said he remained confident about what could be achieved during his return.

“I am sure we will achieve something in the next four years. I never give up,” he added.

His immediate objective is to develop an Italy side capable of controlling matches and playing with consistency.

“I want to build a team that controls games, plays well and always gives its best,” Mancini said. “You cannot win every time, but we will go on to the pitch to do so.”

The new era under Mancini will begin with competitive fixtures rather than friendly matches, increasing the need for him to assess his squad quickly and accelerate the team-building process.

The manager also spoke about his emotions at returning to the Italy job after three years.

“When I came back, I was extremely happy. We had some wonderful times together,” he said.

Italy face Belgium in Rome on Friday in the opening round of Group A in the Nations League. They will then travel to play Turkey on 28 September before meeting France on 2 October.

Mancini previously guided Italy to victory at Euro 2020, but failed to lead the Azzurri to the 2022 World Cup. He left the role after that failure.

His current return followed the resignation of Gennaro Gattuso, who stepped down after Italy failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.