Buffon announces Italy's new coach

Italian football legend Gianluigi Buffon has revealed the new coach of the Azzurri, who will take over from Luciano Spalletti. Buffon, the director of the Italian national team, announced the appointment of Gennaro Gattuso as the new coach of the Italian national team, stressing that the Football Association had made "the best possible decision" after a period of evaluation and negotiations. This appointment comes after the dismissal of former coach Luciano Spalletti following the heavy 3-0 defeat to Norway, although he did lead the team in the next match, which ended with the Azzurri winning 2-0 against Moldova. Buffon said in statements published by the "Football Italia" website: "We have been working hard over the past few days, and we are just waiting for the final details to be finalized. The president and my officials went through a period full of meetings and decisions, and in the end, we have made the decision that we believe is best for the national team." Claudio Ranieri was the first choice to lead the national team, but he had announced his retirement from coaching after taking on a technical advisor role at Roma. Other names such as Stefano Pioli, Daniele De Rossi, and Fabio Cannavaro were also mentioned, but Gattuso quickly became the federation's preferred choice. Buffon added, "We aim to restore balance and strong performances to the national team, and most importantly, avoid showing levels that are not worthy of Italy's history. There are many ways to lose, and we can avoid the worst with a few simple adjustments." Gattuso is expected to lead Italy in their next two 2026 World Cup qualifiers.