Former Inter defender Riccardo Ferri feels that Roberto Mancini is the right man to continue guiding the Italian national team despite the recent failure to qualify for the World Cup.
Speaking to Milan-based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport in an interview published in today’s print edition, Ferri gave the view that the former Nerazzurri boss is still well-placed to get the best out of this Italy team going forward.
Italy will have expected to at least reach the final playoff for the World Cup against Portugal, but suffered a shock 1-0 defeat at the hands of North Macedonia to go crashing out of the World Cup at the qualification stage.
This is the second World Cup in a row which the Azzurri will miss out, and was Mancini’s first chance to guide the team to the top tournament in international football, and one which he has failed to take.
However, the former Inter coach had already managed to win the Euros with Italy last summer and there are still positive signs, which Ferri believes is enough to make him the logical candidate to keep his position.
“Let’s start with one thing for sure,” he said. “Mancini and his staff have done an extraordinary job since they set foot in Coverciano.”
“This time, however, Roberto was confronted with the reality of our football,” he continued, “we have come off the back of two years in which he has almost always played without stopping, including leagues, Euros, cups.”
He explained that “There was little time to train and re-establish the group from a physical point of view. We paid for being physically and mentally spent.”
