2' min
The echoes of Italy's recent stunning 3-1 victory against France in the Nations League in Paris are still fresh. The team’s success isn’t solely attributed to the players; much of it is owed to the coaches, or rather, the Managers (Commissari Tecnici).
The journey of the national team, and consequently its Head Coaches, dates back a long way. It all started on May 15, 1910, when Italy played its debut match at the Arena Civica in Milan. The opponent was France, and Italy triumphed with a 6-2 victory.
In that first match, the bench was occupied by a technical commission consisting of Giannino Camperio, Alberto Crivelli, Giuseppe Gama, Umberto Meazza, and Agostino Recalcati. The first sole Manager was Vittorio Pozzo, who led the team for the first time from June 26 to July 3, 1912, with further tenures in 1924 and from 1929 to 1948. Pozzo remains the most successful head coach in history, having won two World Cups (Italy 1934 and France 1938), an Olympic Tournament (Berlin 1936), and two International Cups (1927-1930 and 1933-1935).
The record for the most matches managed belongs to Enzo Bearzot, who led the Azzurri in 104 games and won the 1982 World Cup. But who has been the most successful Manager in terms of matches won?
The following table provides statistics of the Managers of the Italian national football team, focusing on those with at least 10 matches under their belt. Data for Technical Commissions comprising multiple members are excluded.
| Head Coach | Matches Played | Wins | Draws | Losses | % Wins |
| Vittorio Pozzo | 95 | 63 | 17 | 15 | 66,32% |
| Arrigo Sacchi | 53 | 34 | 11 | 8 | 64,15% |
| Edmondo Fabbri | 29 | 18 | 6 | 5 | 62,07% |
| Roberto Mancini | 61 | 37 | 15 | 9 | 60,66% |
| Azeglio Vicini | 54 | 32 | 15 | 7 | 59,26% |
| Giovanni Trapattoni | 44 | 25 | 12 | 7 | 56,81% |
| Roberto Donadoni | 23 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 56,52% |
| Gian Piero Ventura | 16 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 56,25% |
| Antonio Conte | 25 | 14 | 7 | 4 | 56,00% |
| Ferruccio Valcareggi | 54 | 28 | 20 | 6 | 51,85% |
| Luciano Spalletti | 14 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 50,00% |
| Augusto Rangone | 24 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 50,00% |
| Cesare Maldini | 20 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 50,00% |
| Marcello Lippi | 56 | 28 | 21 | 7 | 50,00% |
| Dino Zoff | 23 | 11 | 7 | 5 | 47,83% |
| Alfredo Foni | 19 | 9 | 2 | 8 | 47,37% |
| Enzo Bearzot | 88 | 40 | 26 | 22 | 45,45% |
| Cesare Prandelli | 56 | 23 | 20 | 13 | 41,07% |
| Giovanni Ferrari | 11 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 36,36% |
As of the last match of the Azzurri at the European Championships, namely Switzerland-Italy on June 29, 2024, Vittorio Pozzo ranks first in this special leaderboard with about a third of his matches won. Also on the podium are Arrigo Sacchi, who narrowly missed the World Cup title in the USA in 1994, and Edmondo Fabbri, remembered by many for the shocking defeat to Korea at the 1966 World Cup.
Interestingly, 14 Managers, including Luciano Spalletti, have won at least 50% of their matches. At the bottom of the list is Giovanni Ferrari, who led Italy across various spells in the 1950s and 1960s, winning just over a third of his matches. Notably, two World Cup-winning coaches, Marcello Lippi and Enzo Bearzot, rank low on this list, as they continued to rely on the same squads post-World Cup triumphs, resulting in subsequent failures in other competitions.
