The positives and negatives behind Conte’s potential second Italy spell

Antonio Conte continues to be linked with a potential return to the Italy national team set-up following last week’s departure of Gennaro Gattuso, but what are the benefits that the current Napoli head coach would bring to the Azzurri and why do some feel that he is not the right man to bring the Nazionale forwards?

Italy are on the lookout for their fourth head coach in three years after Gattuso left the national team by mutual consent following last week’s World Cup play-off final defeat against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Conte, who has already held the Italy job between 2014 and 2016, was among the immediate names to be linked with the vacant CT role, along with the likes of Massimiliano Allegri and Roberto Mancini.

Beginning with the basics: Conte seems genuinely willing to return to the national team set-up.

Speaking after his side’s recent 1-0 Serie A win over Milan, Conte admitted : “If I was the FIGC President, I would take myself into consideration along with others. After all, I have already worked with the Nazionale and I know the environment. I am flattered, because representing your country is something wonderful.”

It is encouraging that there are still top-level coaches interested in taking over the Italy job during the national team’s lowest moment in recent history. The lack of willingness from higher-profile coaches played a large part in the appointment of Gattuso last summer.

It is also encouraging to hear that Aurelio De Laurentiis will not stand in Conte’s way if he does decide to leave Napoli to take over the national team role. Conte has one year remaining on his Partenopei contract, and it sounds as though ADL will not kick off a fuss if the coach seeks to terminate his deal 12 months ahead of schedule.

“If Antonio asked me, I think I’d say yes,” the Napoli President recently confessed .

One of the obvious benefits in appointing Conte is his familiarity with the national team set-up and international football generally. And, he shouldn’t be put off by Italy’s apparent lack of top-level individuals given that the team he coached between 2014 and 2016 was not a particularly memorable Italy side either.

La Gazzetta dello Sport suggests that the current crop of Italy players are, in fact, more gifted on a technical level than the players that Conte had available to him a decade ago. The Pink Paper adds that it is ‘difficult’ to envisage a more fitting coach for Italy than Conte at the moment.

Most importantly, Conte has a proven track record of being a short-term winner, which is something predecessors Gattuso and Luciano Spalletti ultimately failed to achieve during their spells in the Italy hot seat.

VERONA, ITALY – FEBRUARY 28: Antonio Conte head coach of SSC Napoli during the Serie A match between Hellas Verona FC and SSC Napoli at Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi on February 28, 2026 in Verona, Italy . (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)

After hitting rock bottom with the failure to qualify for the World Cup for a third time in a row, the Italy national team set-up is set for several major personnel changes, and not just in the head coach role. FIGC President Gabriele Gravina has also resigned, as has the national team’s delegation chief Gianluigi Buffon.

This seems an opportunity for a complete re-set of the national team and FIGC set-up. However, there is an argument that if Italy appoint Conte, and if the FIGC appoint one of the ageing presidential candidates, that this would simply be a case of ‘more of the same’.

The other obvious elephant in the room is the fact that Conte has only once lasted more than two full seasons in a head coach role, with Juventus between 2011 and 2014. This means that he is very much an option for the short to medium term, when Italy might be wise to look at the medium to long term given the need for a rebuild.