A new era begins for the Azzurri: Gennaro Gattuso officially takes charge of the Italian national team

Gennaro Gattuso has officially begun his work as Italy's new head coach. (Image credits - Heute, License Details

Italy's sports minister Andrea Abodi has extended his welcome to Gennaro Gattuso, who begins his work as the new coach of the Italian national team, following the exit of Luciano Spalletti after the Azzurri's disappointing defeat against Norway a few weeks ago.

Gattuso, who is considered a nationwide legend for his heroics with the Italian national team during their successful World Cup campaigns, takes charge as the head coach with a lot of expectations from the fans and experts.

Upon his arrival in the national camp, Italian sports minister Abodi said, “Rino Gattuso is someone with great heart, has shown competence as a coach and does it with the passion we have all seen in him for a long time.” (sic)

Huge belief in Gattuso as he begins work with the Italian national team

The 47-year-old's managerial portfolio speaks for itself as the Italian legend embarked upon exciting journeys with clubs like Napoli, Valencia, Marseille, and most recently, Hajduk Split, leading his sides to significant improvements during his stints.

Gattuso loves to build a team that often shows character and persistence, which suits the Azzurri's philosophy as well, with most fans hoping for that mentality to come back in their struggling national team.

Gattuso's passion towards the game and the Italian national team has convinced many to believe that he is the ideal choice for the man who can bring back the Italian DNA into the current national team squad, something which the previous manager failed to do.

Andrea Abodi, being one of the believers in Gennaro Gattuso, further stated, “I am cheering him on, along with the Azzurri jersey and those who have the great pleasure of wearing it. We have in front of us some important appointments, targets that have become objectively very difficult."(sic)

He also said, "We want to overcome the obstacles together after some uncertain steps, such as the defeat to Norway. We must have the capacity to think positively and recover the passion for the Azzurri jersey.” (sic)