Should Claudio Ranieri Be The Next Italy Manager?

As Luciano Spalletti took centre stage for the press conference that followed Italy’s troubled defeat to Norway last Friday, the manager announced that he had been sacked in a mic-dropping moment and soon fled from the scene. Since that stunning moment, circulation has scattered all over the media surrounding who Spalletti’s successor will be.

Claudio Ranieri seems to be the man on the tip of everyone’s tongue. The Italian arguably has one of the greatest managerial achievements in the history of the sport, when he turned 5000/1 Leicester City into Premier League champions. Now, he is the favoured man for the Italy job. However, his loyalty to AS Roma may just be too powerful to break.

Will It Happen?

Swiftly after that eventful press conference, Ranieri was the primary target who Italy identified to fill the job. As Italy are struggling to find points in their World Cup Qualification quest, and desperate to avoid yet another missed competition, they must find the right man to steer them forward.

When all hell breaks lose in an underperforming camp, Ranieri is the perfect man to take control and alleviate the situation. We have seen it countless times; the Italian comes in and infuses a winning mentality and positive spirit into the team, which has guided many of his clubs away from relegation threat and disappointment (and much more than that, in one special case).

Saturday's reports claim that Claudio Ranieri will be among Italy's first-choice options to come in as head coach in the event that Luciano Spalletti leaves in the near future. pic.twitter.com/Xfvq1D3NSd

— Football Italia (@footballitalia) June 7, 2025

This is exactly what the Italians need. Someone who can calm down the nation's understandable worries, and enforce the basics into a squad which is seeping with talent. Furthermore, with six games still to play in the qualification, there is still plenty of time to recover Italy’s troubled start.

This would not be Ranieri’s first rodeo in international management either - the 73-year-old was at the helm of the Greek national team back in 2014. Although his trip to southeast of Europe was only short and not too sweet, the Roman has at least a snippet of experience within international management.

However, it is all well and good imagining a life where Claudio Ranieri is the Italy manager, but is that really what he wants? The Italian has recently come out and stated that he is fastened in his new executive role at his lifelong club AS Roma – a polite way of declining Italy’s enticing offer. It may just have been too unrealistic of an appointment.

After all, Ranieri only just pounced out of retirement last winter to help save his beloved Roma. At 73, the veteran has made it fairly clear that he has no remaining intention of pursuing management, opening a whole new managerial search party for the Italian national team.

🚨🇮🇹 OFFICIAL: Claudio Ranieri has turned down the proposal to become new Italy national team head coach.

“It’s a great honor for me to receive that proposal but I decided to continue with my role at AS Roma as part of the management”, Ranieri says. pic.twitter.com/dJOvcQBrhK

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 10, 2025

Can They Only Dream?

It has been made evident that the reception Claudio Ranieri would receive as Italy manager would be colossal. He is the wanted man. The one adored by all Italy fans as they continue to plea for his arrival.

The supporters have been calling for someone who will come in and get the job done. Qualifying for the 2026 World Cup is Italy’s main aim, and all of their fans know that Ranieri could help them towards this goal. However, he just seems to be the right man at the wrong time. Many Italians are aware of Ranieri’s retirement ambitions, which just does not align with the overwhelming desire for the former Chelsea boss’ presence.

Italy should go for Claudio Ranieri

He’s an expert at steering sinking ships into harbour

Unlike Spalletti, he knows how to play a back 3

Unlike Spalletti, the players will respect him

Unlike Spalletti, he can handle media

Give him a 1 year deal then let him finally retire pic.twitter.com/2dSa7jqnIE

— Carlo Garganese (@carlogarganese) June 6, 2025

If circumstances were different, this would be a brilliant appointment for Italy. They have just six games left to bid for qualification, and it is common knowledge that if Claudio Ranieri was to step back into management it would only be for a limited spell. Therefore, his excellence in rejuvenating broken sides would really benefit Italy in these times and direct them towards the World Cup.

However, this may not necessarily fix the greater problem. If Ranieri was to join just for these qualification games, Italy would have the exact same managerial saga afterwards, as they looked for a permanent manager for the World Cup – should they qualify. So maybe someone long-term and permanent would be the best fit.