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It's not easy to explain what happened to the Italian National Team in the past two years. It all started after the Azzurri managed, surprisingly, to win Euro 2020, with Roberto Mancini's defeating England in the final at Wembley. That moment was the culmination of a great run that started three years before, when Mancini took charge of the National Team after Italy missed the 2018 World Cup, failing to advance from their group before losing to Sweden in the playoffs. 

Mancini was able to bring back a special spirit inside the dressing room, something that is particularly important when we talk about national teams. In international soccer, with limited time to implement complex tactics, and a group of players defined by where they're born, it's all about creating the right atmosphere. In Italy's case, apart from the famous 2006 World Cup winning team, the only other ones that had this kinds of attitude were the national teams in 2012 under Cesare Prandelli at Euro 2012 and the one four years later at the Euros under Antonio Conte. These two sides, despite failing to win the competition, were widely considered as one of the best teams of the recent history of Italian soccer. 

Mancini was able to restore the good vibes and restore the sense of belonging that seemed lost. In fact, with only a few changes in the roster that failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, Mancini didn't lose a single game from 2018 when he took charge until October 2021, when Italy lost to Spain in the UEFA Nations League semifinal in San Siro. Italy didn't lose for 37 games in a row, a world record for the National team. And, most importantly, Italy won the Euros in 2021. 

That was a moment of reconciliation between the National Team and the tifosi, the Italian fans, who gathered in the streets of the whole country to celebrate the unexpected success, only few weeks after the same country was one of the most affected by the Covid outbreaks, that forced millions of people to stay at home for entire months. It was a big moment for the team, for Mancini of course, and most importantly for the fans, who had a feeling that they were returning to normal life thanks to the success of the Azzurri. 

Sadly, that win didn't solve all the issues of the Italian National Team. Mancini decided to stay in charge with the clear goal to bring Italy back at the World Cup. However, Italy missed the qualification a few months later after by losing to North Macedonia in the play-offs and the Azzurri failed to qualify for the second time in a row for the most important soccer tournament in the world. 

Mancini, despite now having the pressure of the worst moment of his time on his shoulders, decided along with Italy to stay in charge again. From this moment on, something changed between the fans, the team, the Italian FA and the coach himself. Italy lost to Argentina in the Finalissima between the European and the South American champions in 2022, lost to England the opening game of the group stage of the 2024 Euro qualifiers, but the won against Malta in the second match during the international window in March. 

Mancini started to call some new faces into the team, but the Azzurri had lost the identity and most importantly the good spirit that led to the success in 2021. It was just a matter of time until Mancini left the role, so when Saudi Arabia came calling, nobody was surprised when Mancini took a paycheck and ran. The Mancini cycle, which will always be remembered for the success of a second ever Euro victory, shouldn't have ended like this, with the former coach who stepped down from his duties before accepting the same role as the head coach of the Saudi Arabian National Team. 

The Italian FA took only a few days to decide who would replace Mancini, and the decision was very clear from the beginning. Former Napoli coach Luciano Spalletti was the only choice. Spalletti, who last season won a historic Serie A title with Napoli, has the character and the qualities that Italy need right now. 

Spalletti is a coach with defined tactical ideas, playing with either a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3, and the perfect character to revive the spirit lost in the past months. Also, he's coached teams like AS Roma, Inter and Napoli, with many complicated situations, so he's personally handled lost of tricky political situations. For example, he oversaw the last year of Francesco Totti as a legendary Roma soccer player and the Mauro Icardi saga at Inter, when Spalletti and the club decided to take away the armband from the Argentinian striker and put him out of the squad in the middle of the season. 

The manager already made his first choices and called some familiar faces in the team, such as his former Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo, who is likely to take the same role with Italy. Spalletti won't start a revolution, as the first names he's called in suggest. More than changing names though, he needs to bring some new tactical ideas and most importantly that winning spirit, as Mancini did when he started the cycle back in 2018. 

Spalletti knows the challenges he will face, as he said himself when he was unveiled last week, but also looks at the new role with optimism. "Mancini won a European Championship, scored a record of 37 consecutive positive results and introduced many young players in the team. Now we have to try to play football that everyone likes. We want to play football that resembles a strong nation like Italy". 

Luciano Spalletti's debut will be September 9 against North Macedonia, the same team that forced Italy to miss their second World Cup in a row. It's just a coincidence, but winning would mean a lot for many Italian fans around the world, and Spalletti knows that.