On Thursday the Italian Football Federation appointed former Juventus boss Antonio Conte as their new manager on a two-year deal.
Conte, 45, replaces Cesare Prandelli following Italy’s disappointing 2014 World Cup campaign where the four-time World Champions were knocked out in the group stage.
The announcement comes just three days after the federation elected Carlo Tavecchio as the new president, under much scrutiny, as the Italian national team has undergone big changes from top to bottom.
Conte has been linked with the national team job ever since he surprisingly stepped down as Juve’s boss last month.
During his time in Turin he led the La Vecchia Signora to three successive Serie A titles from 2011-14 but success in the UEFA Champions League eluded Conte.
His teams player a powerful, incisive style of soccer and he cultivated a winning mentality with Juve after they rose from the depths of Italian soccer following a match-fixing scandal which saw them demoted to Serie B and threatened to ruin the proud club.
With veterans such as Andrea Pirlo and Gianluigi Buffon coming towards the end of their national team careers, Conte will look for his youngsters to step up to the plate as Italy prepare for the upcoming 2016 European Championship qualifying campaign which begins in September.
