Gattuso named new Italy coach
The Italian football federation (FIGC) said Gattuso would be presented to the media on Thursday.
"Gattuso is a symbol of Italian football," said FIGC president Gabriele Gravina.
"The blue shirt is like a second skin for him. His motivation, his professionalism and his experience will be essential.
"(He is) Aware of the importance of the objective we want to achieve. I thank him for the total dedication with which he has accepted this challenge."
Four-time champions Italy have failed to qualify for the past two World Cups and started their bid to reach next year's tournament in North America with a 3-0 loss to Norway last week.
Gattuso is an experienced coach and was last in charge of Croatian club Hajduk Split, helping them qualify for next season's UEFA Conference League.
His other former clubs include AC Milan, for whom he made 468 appearances as a player, Napoli, Valencia and Marseille.
Italy are next in action in Group I of qualifying with games against Estonia and Israel in September.
Spalletti was sacked after the Norway defeat, and Monday's win over Moldova was his last match in charge.
Italy missed out on the 2018 World Cup in Russia after losing a play-off to Sweden and then also failed to qualify for the 2022 finals in Qatar, suffering a shock exit from the play-offs at the hands of North Macedonia.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
a day ago
- France 24
Ferrari boss confident 'frustrated' Hamilton will bounce back after Hungarian GP
While team-mate Charles Leclerc proved unable to convert Ferrari's first pole position of the season into victory due to unexplained mechanical problems during the race, seven-time champion Hamilton was battling to escape midfield and finished where he started. As on Saturday, when he was dumped out of Q2 and appeared miserable, claiming he was "completely useless" and saying the team should "bring in another driver", Hamilton seemed utterly deflated. To most observers, it appeared as if the pressures of living up to the hype of his spectacular marquee move from Mercedes, where he won six titles, and adjusting to the culture, car and expectations at Ferrari were overwhelming him. At 40, talk of imminent retirement circled around him. But Vasseur was swift to defend Hamilton, who has always been prone to impulsive heart-on-sleeve reactions. "I don't need to motivate him," said Vasseur. "Honestly, he's frustrated, but not demotivated. "He's demanding, but I think it's also why he's (a) seven-time world champion. I can perfectly understand this situation. "Sometimes, you are making comments on what the driver is saying (in) the car, but if you put the microphone on some other sportsmen, in football and so on, I'm not sure that it would be much better. "Sometimes, just after the race or just after qualifying, you are very disappointed and the first reaction is harsh. I can understand the frustration, but we are all frustrated." 'He will be back' Vasseur added Hamilton's weekend appeared worse than it really was because of the tight and competitive times that led him to miss out on reaching Q3 on Saturday. "For sure, when you are a seven-time world champion, your team-mate is on pole position and you are out in Q2, it's a tough situation," he said. "But overall, we can also have a deep look that he was in front of Charles in Q1 and with the first set that he was one-tenth off in Q2. We were not far away from having the two cars out in Q2. "I can understand the frustration from Lewis. That's normal and he will come back. He was stuck in a DRS train, but when he was alone, the pace was good. "I'm sure that he will be back and he will perform." Fourth-placed Leclerc backed his team-mate. "At the end, we are one team and as much as I want to finish in front of Lewis, I want both of us to be successful and for Ferrari to be successful, and obviously this weekend has been a tough one for Lewis," Leclerc said. "But I have no doubt that it's a one-off and I'm sure the second part of the season will be a lot more positive." Hamilton, sixth in the drivers' standings, but without a podium for Ferrari this year, said he was looking forward to a much-needed "break from work" during F1's August holiday before the Dutch Grand Prix on the final weekend of this month.
Local France
3 days ago
- Local France
Prosecutors call for PSG's Achraf Hakimi to face rape trial
The Nanterre prosecutor's office told AFP that they had requested that the investigating judge refer the rape charge to a criminal court. "It is now up to the investigating magistrate to make a decision within the framework of his order," the prosecutor's office told AFP in a statement. Hakimi, 26, played a major role in PSG's run to their first Champions League title, the full-back scoring the opener in the 5-0 rout of Inter Milan in the final in May. Hakimi, who helped Morocco to their historic progress to the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup, was charged in March, 2023 with raping a 24-year-old woman. Hakimi allegedly paid for his accuser to travel to his home on February 25, 2023, in the Paris suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt while his wife and children were away on holiday. The woman went to a police station following the encounter alleging rape and was questioned by police. Although the woman refused to make a formal accusation, prosecutors decided to press charges against the player. She told police at the time that she had met Hakimi in January 2023 on Instagram. On the night in question she said she had travelled to his house in a taxi paid for by Hakimi. She told police Hakimi had started kissing her and making non-consensual sexual advances, before raping her, a police source told AFP at the time. She said she managed to break free to text a friend who came to pick her up. Advertisement 'Attempted extortion' Contacted by AFP after Friday's development Hakimi's lawyer Fanny Colin described the call by prosecutors for a trial as "incomprehensible and senseless in light of the case's elements". "We, along with Achraf Hakimi, remain as calm as we were at the start of the proceedings. "If these requisitions were to be followed, we would obviously pursue all avenues of appeal," she continued. According to Colin, her client had "been the target of an attempted extortion". "Nothing in this case suggests an attempted extortion," Rachel-Flore Pardo, the lawyer representing the woman, said. "My client welcomes this news with immense relief," she told AFP. "We will not tolerate any smear or destabilisation campaign, as is unfortunately still too often the case for women who have the courage to report the rape of which they are victims," she added. The son of a cleaning lady and a street vendor, both Moroccans who have lived in Spain since the 1980s, Hakimi was born in Getafe, a southern suburb of Madrid. Hakimi came through the youth system at Real Madrid before joining Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund in 2018. He went on to make 73 appearances for the German club. He moved to Inter Milan in 2020 and then on to PSG in 2021 where he has established himself as an integral part of the team. In Qatar, Hakimi was a cornerstone of the Morocco team that became the first African or Arab nation to reach the semi-finals of a World Cup.
LeMonde
3 days ago
- LeMonde
French prosecutors seek trial for PSG's Achraf Hakimi over rape charge
French prosecutors on Friday, August 1, called for Paris Saint-Germain star Achraf Hakimi to face trial for the alleged rape of a woman in 2023, which the Moroccan international denies. The Nanterre prosecutor's office told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that they had requested that the investigating judge refer the rape charge to a criminal court. "It is now up to the investigating magistrate to make a decision within the framework of his order," the prosecutor's office told AFP in a statement. Hakimi, 26, played a major role in PSG's run to their first Champions League title, the full-back scoring the opener in the 5-0 rout of Inter Milan in the final in May. Hakimi, who helped Morocco to their historic run to the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup, was charged in March 2023 with raping a 24-year-old woman. Hakimi allegedly paid for his accuser to travel to his home on February 25, 2023, in the Paris suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt while his wife and children were away on holiday. On the night in question she said she had traveled to his house in d by police. Although the woman refused to make a formal accusation, prosecutors decided to press charges against the player. She told police at the time that she had met Hakimi in January 2023 on Instagram. Contacted by AFP after Friday's development, Hakimi's lawyer Fanny Colin described the night in question she said she had travelled to his house in a taxi paid for by Hakimi. She told police Hakimi had started kissing her and making non consensual sexual advances, before raping her, a police source told AFP at the time. She said she managed to break free to text a friend who came to pick her up. Contacted by AFP after Friday's development Hakimi's lawyer Fanny Colin described the call by prosecutors for a trial as "incomprehensible and senseless in light of the case's elements". "If these requisitions were to be followed, we would obviously pursue all avenues of appeal," she added. "My client welcomes this news with immense relief," Rachel-Flore Pardo, the lawyer representing the woman, told AFP.
