
Rangers hero Gennaro Gattuso appointed Italy manager
Gattuso, who won the World Cup with Italy, replaces Luciano Spalletti as the national team manager.
Gennaro Gattuso is the new First Team Head Coach 🇮🇹
Welcome back, Rino 👊#Azzurri #VivoAzzurro pic.twitter.com/H6oQZWJcca — Italy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@Azzurri_En) June 15, 2025
This is his first step into international management after working at a series of clubs from 2013.
Gattuso managed Sion, Palermo, OFI Crete, Pisa twice, AC Milan, Napoli, Valencia, Marseille and Hajduk Split before being called upon by his country.
A statement confirmed: "Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio is pleased to announce that Gennaro Gattuso will be the new First Team Head Coach.
Read more:
"The Calabrian coach will be presented officially on Thursday 19 June, at 11:00 CESt, at Hotel Parco dei Principi in Rome."
Gabriele Gravina, president of the FIGC commented: "Gattuso is a symbol of Italian football, the shirt is like his second skin.
"His motivations, professionalism and experience will be fundamental in taking on the next challenges of the National Team.
"He knows the importance of our objectives and I thank him for his readiness and dedication in accepting this challenges.
"He shares the FIGC's project of the development of our football, in which the Azzurri shirt is a central part".
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Greenwood nears international return with Jamaica
Mason Greenwood is close to a return to international football after being granted citizenship and given a Jamaican has not played an international since his only England cap against Iceland in September 2020. Within 48 hours he had been sent home, along with Manchester City's Phil Foden, for breaching Covid quarantine secured a Jamaican passport only a change from the Football Association (FA) to the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) is required for Greenwood to be cleared to feature in next month's World Cup qualifiers against Bermuda and Trinidad and left Manchester United after charges against him, including attempted rape and assault, were dropped in February joined Spanish club Getafe on loan and then, in 2024, signed for Ligue 1 side Marseille on a permanent 23-year-old scored in Marseille's pre-season 1-1 draw with Sevilla at the weekend, and has been linked with moves to Inter Milan and Saudi Pro-League club Al-Nassr. Greenwood is part of a renewed drive by Jamaica, managed by former England boss Steve McClaren, to recruit UK-raised players through their family links. Brentford's Rico Henry and Tottenham's Tyrese Hall, who has joined Notts County on loan, also fall into that category. Jamaica are aiming to qualify for the World Cup for only the second time, having done so in 1998.

Rhyl Journal
2 hours ago
- Rhyl Journal
Allianz UK Official Supporter of Women's Rugby World Cup 2025
The sponsorship highlights Allianz's continued commitment to supporting the women's game and is also marks a special sporting moment as the first international stadium naming rights agreement in the history of the Rugby World Cup. The World Cup, which begins on 22 August, will move across seven host cities in England before the champions of the 16-team tournament are crowned at Allianz Stadium. The winners will lift the newly unveiled Women's Rugby World Cup trophy, marking a new chapter in the tournament's history. With unprecedented interest in Women's Rugby World Cup 2025, the final at Allianz Stadium is on course to become the most attended women's rugby match in history, set to surpass the record-breaking crowd of 66,000 at Stade de France during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Allianz has a longstanding connection with rugby, spanning from elite to grassroots levels. In 2024, the iconic home of England Rugby was renamed Allianz Stadium, following the evolution of a wide-ranging partnership with England Rugby. This partnership includes support for the men's and women's national teams and investment in youth pathways. Allianz also supports grassroots rugby clubs across the UK via the Allianz Future Fund. Aligning with Allianz's strong focus and commitment to invest in fans and grassroots communities, as part of the tournament's wider purpose-led activation strategy, 'The Road to Allianz Stadium', is a partnership with global fan engagement platform Stepathlon. Designed to unite and inspire fans to get active in the build-up to the tournament, participants will be challenged to walk the equivalent distance from Sunderland's Stadium of Light – host of the opening match – to Allianz Stadium, the home of the final. Colm Holmes, CEO, Allianz UK commented: 'I'm thrilled that Allianz UK has been named as an official supporter of the Women's Rugby World Cup, and that the final will be played at Allianz Stadium. This is hugely exciting and also feels like a natural extension of our existing partnerships. We know and understand the power of sport to inspire and unite, so to be part of this journey for the Women's Rugby World Cup is very special. Ticket sales have already exceeded that of the Rugby World Cup in 2021, and I know it is going to be a terrific tournament for existing and new fans alike.' Sarah Massey, Managing Director of Women's Rugby World Cup 2025, commented: 'Allianz's commitment to rugby and to using sport as a force for positive societal change makes them an ideal partner for Women's Rugby World Cup 2025. We're delighted to welcome them on this journey as we work towards delivering the biggest and most impactful women's rugby event in history, set to conclude in spectacular fashion with a record-breaking final at Allianz Stadium on 27 September.'


The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
How Palestine's Wessam Abou Ali earned a head-turning move to MLS's Columbus Crew
As soon as I stepped on the field on the King Abdullah II Stadium in southeast Amman in June, Wessam Abou Ali stepped off. Palestine had just had their dreams of the 2026 World Cup ended by a last-minute Oman penalty that was as soft as they come. While some players in white fell to their knees or collapsed crying into the arms of coaching staff, the 26-year-old, with scrunched-up shorts, exited stage left to head to the United States and the global stage of the Club World Cup with Egypt's Al-Ahly, after impressing so much on the African and Asian one. Now, after this busiest of summers, the Danish-born star has signed for Columbus Crew – a No 9 for one of MLS's best teams in need of one, and one who takes up one of the team's allotment of designated player spots, to boot. Those designations tend to carry some weight in MLS, but pressure is not going to be an issue for one of the Middle East's newest stars. This is a player who collapsed on the pitch due to a sudden spike in heart rate in 2021 while in action for Vendsyssel FF in Denmark before waking up in an ambulance and being out of action for nine months. Within weeks of his return, he suffered another serious injury, including fractured ribs and a punctured lung. After undergoing surgery, the rangy striker admitted that he had thought about giving it all up but returned with a renewed conviction. He has been making up for lost time ever since. Sign up to Soccer with Jonathan Wilson Jonathan Wilson brings expert analysis on the biggest stories from European soccer after newsletter promotion Originally from Aalborg, Denmark's fourth-largest city where his family had eventually ended up after leaving Palestine in 1948, the forward spent time in the local league before a move to Sirius in Sweden in 2023 was followed by 10 goals in 16 games. That earned a significant move in January 2024 to Al-Ahly – regarded by most as the biggest club in Africa, with demanding fans and a media dominated by impatient and critical ex-players. He made it look easy. Despite arriving in Cairo well after the Egyptian Premier League season started, Abou Ali grabbed the 2024-25 golden boot with 18 goals. As well as the individual prize, he helped the team to a league and a Caf Champions League title. In all, he managed 35 goals and 10 assists in just 57 appearances for the Red Giants. He couldn't quite help Al-Ahly to a second successive Champions League triumph, as they fell at the semi-final stage on away goals in May. There was little time to dwell on that, though, as he was off to help Palestine qualify for a first World Cup. Abou Ali represented Denmark at the youth level but due to his obvious talent, heritage and public support of Palestine, he had long been on the radar of The Fedayeen. His debut came in 2024, at the end of the second round of World Cup qualification in Asia and Palestine's place in the third round for the first time ever, to fight it out with 17 nations for the biggest of prizes. Despite all the challenges that the team faced on the road to 2026, not least having to play every game on foreign soil due to the situation at home, that Palestine came so close to reaching the playoffs was a testament to spirit, skill and determination. 'It would be a dream to go to the World Cup,' Abou Ali said in June. 'It would mean so much to everyone.' He quickly became the cutting edge, scoring four of the team's 10 goals in the third round, including one of the most famous strikes in Palestine's history. To get to the World Cup playoffs, only three wins from the last three group games would do. Being 1-0 down in the first of those to Iraq with just minutes to go in March was not ideal but then Abou Ali, whose physicality had caused problems all night, timed his run perfectly to meet a corner at the near post to head into the opposite side of the net. A dramatic and wildly celebrated winner soon followed. Then it was to Kuwait on 5 June, another must-win game at the home of a team in the same situation. Palestine were already a goal to the good when Abou Ali, shorts scrunched up, stepped up to stroke home a penalty that sealed the victory to keep the dream alive for five more days, before it was ended by Oman thanks to a late spot kick. As the Palestine FA made an official complaint to Fifa about Oman's penalty, Abou Ali was already off to the United States and the Fifa Club World Cup. For Al-Ahly, there was a perfect hat-trick against Porto, an incredible feat for a Palestinian international playing for an Egyptian club against a former European champion. Reports in Egypt talked of more and more interest and more and more bids. Al-Ahly fans took to social media to implore the star to stay and were devastated when he did not, testament to the impact that he has had on such a huge stage in a short space of time. From Cairo to Columbus via World Cup and Club World Cup heartbreak and much more besides, Wessam Abou Ali is a major star on the planet's two biggest continents and is ready for a third. There is a sense that he is just getting started.