By Victor Kanayo
World Cup winner and former midfielder Gennaro Gattuso has been appointed Italy manager.
This was revealed by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) on Sunday.
Also, FIGC confirmed that Gattuso will be presented to the media on Thursday.
According to FIGC President Gabriele Gravina, “Gattuso is a symbol of Italian football.
“The blue jersey is like a second skin for him. His motivations, his professionalism and his experience will be fundamental to best face the upcoming commitments of the national team.”
The AC Milan legend replaces Luciano Spalletti, who announced his own sacking at a news conference last week.
A 3-0 World Cup qualifying defeat by Norway on 6 June sealed Spalletti’s fate.
Gattuso, 47, made 73 appearances for Italy and was a member of their 2006 World Cup-winning squad, and will now lead his country into the same tournament 20 years later.
Italy won Euro 2020 but failed to qualify for last summer’s tournament, and have also not made it to the past two World Cups.
