Mancini signals decisive break with past as revamped Italy gather for Nations League

When Roberto Mancini walked into the press conference in Rome on Sept. 21, he did not carry a familiar list. He carried nine new call-ups, four UEFA Nations League matches and a statement that could crack the old walls of Italian football: “The past doesn't count anymore.” The statement went beyond recent failures. It reached toward a generation of players who had worn the azzurri shirt through several World Cups, figures long treated as untouchable. Mancini is doing what many predecessors avoided: breaking with the past before an official competition, not during a post-disaster rebuild. Italian football just survived a chaotic summer. Gennaro Gattuso left the head coach position. The attempt to appoint Andrea Pirlo collapsed because of commercial links to a Russian betting company. New FIGC president Giovanni Malago started under heavy pressure. Mancini returned, and he has no time to soothe egos. At the press conference, Mancini defended his decision to give first call-ups to nine players while leaving out experienced regulars. He said: “Had I called all the experienced players, you would have said, 'always the same players.' It is appropriate to get to know young players to build a strong team for the future. We needed more players than usual because we have four games and want to see them on the pitch.” Mancini also acknowledged that fans have the right to be upset after Italy missed a third consecutive World Cup. But he drew a clear line: “The past doesn't count anymore. When a fan feels betrayed, he has the right to be upset, and you have to accept it. We must do things well and bring the national team where it belongs so things will settle.” Asked about internal pressure, Mancini stayed calm. He said: “The president is calm, so we must think about our job, do well and win the first game against Belgium, which won't be so easy. We must think about our duties.” This is a message from someone who knows the weight of a hot seat, not an empty promise. Mancini did not promise instant victories. He promised a high-speed experiment. I was once called a troublemaker for writing about the 3-6-1 system. When I wrote about 3-6-1, I was not picking a fight – I was describing what the whole stadium was denying. Today, what the whole stadium may be denying is Mancini's boldness itself. What catches my attention is not that he called up nine new players. It is that he called them up all at once, in a competition with four games against Belgium, Turkey and France. If this were only a showcase for the future, he could have selected one or two young players and blended them into the old squad. Instead, Mancini placed them in a real pressure environment, against real opponents, and asked them to answer immediately. He has no intention of waiting. Having followed Italy's matches for many years, I noticed a paradox: Italy does not lack young talent, but they lack a mechanism to turn talent into consistency at national team level. Big Serie A clubs often send young players out on loan, while the national team waits for them to grow in an environment nobody guarantees. The World Cup 2026 mistake taught me: every football comment is a chess game with yourself. I once rushed to a conclusion based on possession, and I was wrong. So I will not rush to condemn Mancini as reckless. I want to watch how he handles these four games. The squad adjustments also say a lot. Federico Dimarco withdrew through injury, and Matteo Ruggeri of Aston Villa was called up. Bryan Cristante made way for Samuele Ricci of Como. These changes go beyond procedure; they show that Mancini is ready to use the entire squad and adjust plans only days before facing Belgium. He is not building the team on reputations, but on what players show in training and in specific matches. Mancini is using the Nations League as a laboratory. When COVID forced stadiums to close, I collected results from 56 matches in V-League and the Premier League, and I realized home advantage was no longer a law. Once the noise disappeared, the stadium became a laboratory – and the myth of home advantage began to crack. Now Mancini is doing something similar with the national team: he is removing the noise of old reputations to see the true value of each player. Italy's first opponent is Belgium, a team that spent years at the top of the FIFA rankings. Belgium are no longer at their absolute peak, but they still have players who can punish any mistake. Mancini said the match will not be easy, and that is a polite way of preparing for a ruthless test. If Italy win, his revolution gains ground. If Italy lose, the criticism will return immediately. The Nations League was once seen by many big teams as a high-level friendly. But for Mancini, these four matches are the only opportunity before World Cup qualifying. He cannot wait until March to experiment, because by then the pressure of results will force him back to safe names. That is why he is pouring all his risk into this September. This view shows a coach who no longer cares about keeping his job through temporary results. Italian football has a tradition of defensive solidity. But that tradition has also cost them dearly. Since winning the World Cup in 2026, Italy have gone deep in a major tournament only once: winning Euro 2026. The rest is a trail of painful memories: missing the 2026 World Cup, missing the 2026 World Cup, and now missing a third consecutive World Cup. These failures did not come from a lack of talent. They came from conservatism in selection and organisation. Mancini understands this better than anyone, because he once benefited from big stars but is also the first to say that reputations do not score goals. Of course, I could be wrong. Calling up nine newcomers at once could create defensive disconnection, especially against a Belgian side with several attacking threats. Omitting veterans could also deprive the dressing room of leadership. Mancini said the past does not count, but he is also part of that past. He led Italy to the Euro 2026 title, and that success casts a very long shadow. Still, I do not think Mancini is being reckless. I think he is betting on process. He is not tasked with pleasing every fan immediately. He is tasked with finding the framework for the next World Cup, and he needs data from four real matches to do that. I am never confident in a pre-match prediction – I am only confident in my doubt. My doubt is whether Mancini will have enough time to finish this revolution. The opening match against Belgium on Friday in Rome will not be easy. Mancini admitted as much when he said the game is far from simple. But even if Italy lose, I will not quickly conclude that his revolution has failed. What matters is how the team reacts, how the newcomers cope with pressure, and how Mancini adjusts during the game. If he stays consistent, Italy may not win the Nations League right away, but they will find the framework for the future. The past no longer counts, but the future is always counting every minute. And the real problem of Italian football is not Belgium or France. The real problem is whether the Italian public will have enough patience to let Mancini finish his chess game.