Ranieri replaces Roberto Maldini, who reportedly stepped down after threatening to resign if Mancini was brought back to lead the national team. “I believed Roberto Mancini was the right person to lead the Italian national team again, and I take full responsibility for that decision,” he said. Mancini replaces Gennaro Gattuso, who resigned after Italy’s World Cup qualifying play-off defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina in March. After leaving the Saudi national team just over a year later, Mancini took charge of Qatari club Al Sadd, where he signed a two-year contract last November. Now back in charge of the Azzurri, Mancini faces the challenge of ending Italy’s World Cup struggles.