Roberto Mancini is appointed Italy manager for a second time - just a day after Andrea Pirlo rules himself out of the running for the job and technical director Paolo Maldini resig…

Roberto Mancini has been appointed Italy manager for a second time - just a day after Andrea Pirlo ruled himself out of the running for the job and technical director Paolo Maldini resigned. Gennaro Gattuso left his role as Italy boss in April after the Azzurri failed to qualify for a third successive World Cup. Pirlo looked set to take over but on Monday pulled out following controversy over his ties to a Russian betting company. "I believed that the best person to become head coach was Roberto Mancini," said Italian Football Federation (FIGC) president Giovanni Malago. Claudio Ranieri, who led Leicester City to the Premier League title in 2015-16, will replace Maldini as technical director. Maldini, who was appointed to the role two weeks ago, and adviser Leonardo resigned following the decision not to appoint Pirlo. Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti were both approached by the FIGC about the Italy job before Pirlo. Mancini, 61, previously managed Italy from 2018 until 2023 and won Euro 2020 - beating England in the final at Wembley.