La Repubblica revealed that Jose Mourinho was the Italian Football Federation’s preferred candidate to coach the Azzurri, succeeding Luciano Spalletti. Surprisingly, however, it was Gianluigi Buffon who blocked the entire process.
Italy sacked Spalletti after a heavy 3-0 defeat to Norway in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, and a few days ago, they appointed Gennaro Gattuso as his successor, despite his modest coaching career.
Gattuso wasn’t the Italian Federation’s first choice. Renowned coach Claudio Ranieri was also considered, but he rejected the offer, preferring to complete his retirement and expressing his happiness with his current job as an advisor to Roma.
The Italian Federation then thought of bringing in someone with a strong background in Italian football: Jose Mourinho, who had been Inter Milan coach for two years and Roma coach for two and a half years.
The Italian national team’s technical sponsor was Mourinho’s biggest supporter, to the point that the company was willing to pay a large portion of the Special One’s hefty salary. However, two reasons hindered the Portuguese’s return to Roma.
The first was Fenerbahçe’s desire to obtain a financial compensation for terminating Mourinho’s contract, which extended until next summer. The second was the legendary Gianluigi Buffon, who served as the Italian delegation’s manager.
Buffon believed that Italy needed a coach completely different from Mourinho. Specifically, he believed that the Azzurri needed a legend capable of restoring the spirit that had been absent since the departure of Roberto Mancini.
Ultimately, the Italian Football Federation decided to follow Buffon’s lead and bring in one of the most important stars of the historic 2006 generation, Gennaro Gattuso, known for his high spirits, who could help put things right and ensure smooth qualification for the next World Cup after missing the last two editions.
