Roberto Mancini issued an apology in his first public comments after being reappointed as the Italy head coach, three years after he abandoned the same job for a lucrative contract with Saudi Arabia.

“I’m very sorry,” Mancini said. “It was like losing the woman of your life. And it means you did something that shouldn’t have been done. So I’m sorry, very sorry also for everything that happened over these last three years … I’m going to try to bring the national team back where it belongs.”

Italy failed for a third straight time to qualify for the World Cup, prompting the resignations of Gabriele Gravina as federation president and Gennaro Gattuso as head coach in April, shortly after the playoff defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The 61-year-old Mancini led the Azzurri to the European Championship title in 2021 but resigned as Italy coach in August 2023, taking over Saudi Arabia’s national team two weeks later. “It was completely my fault,” Mancini said, referring to a lack of communication with Gravina.

Mancini’s first match back in charge will be against Belgium in the Nations League on 25 September at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. He was asked about what type of reception fans might give him. “I realise some people will be against me,” Mancini said. “I’m hoping the squad plays well enough that maybe people will forgive me.”

Mancini was fourth-choice option for the Italy job after Carlo Ancelotti and Pep Guardiola turned it down and Andrea Pirlo was dropped as a candidate amid political concerns over a sponsorship deal with a Russian betting firm.

-The Guardian