Giorgio De Giorgis, Roberto Mancini's former agent, has given his verdict on his old client's second spell in charge of the Italian national team, speaking on the "Salite sulla giostra" programme on Stile TV.
Mancini was confirmed as Italy's new head coach on 28 July, taking over from Gennaro Gattuso, who had himself replaced Silvio Baldini on an interim basis, and returns to the role three years after leading the Azzurri to victory at Euro 2020 before stepping down in 2023 to take charge in Saudi Arabia.
De Giorgis argued that Mancini was the obvious choice given the state of the player pool at his disposal.
"Mancini is the right coach for the results he's achieved, because he's the coach who has won the most since Italy stopped being the Italy of World Cup wins. Who is Italy's most representative player? We take too long to answer because there isn't one, there are no players who catch the eye.
"In the national team they then perform below what they're capable of, we don't have that strong a national team. We don't have someone who can save you in difficult games, the only one maybe is Donnarumma, but he's a goalkeeper.
"Mancini is someone who always thinks positively, he has a lot of faith in his players, I believe he can do very well, but this is the material he has. When you have a young player and you give him game time, he can only grow and improve, and as a result it benefits the Italian national team — clubs should start thinking this way too."
De Giorgis also touched on the contrast with Spain, world champions this summer, arguing Italy's more varied football culture makes replicating that model difficult.
"They say Spain didn't have great players, and it's true, but their coach went fishing in a league where everyone plays the same way, all the young players come through the same system. We, on the other hand, are much more varied. With Mancini, Italy will reach the next World Cup, because there will probably be 60 nations in it! Jokes aside, Italy could have gone this year too. This national team needs some positivity around it."
Alongside Mancini's return, the Italian federation has also brought back Claudio Ranieri in a newly created technical director role. The appointment was confirmed by FIGC president Giovanni Malagò at a federal council meeting, following weeks of uncertainty that had earlier seen Paolo Maldini and Leonardo resign from their posts overseeing the national team project.