Gennaro Gattuso is Italy's new boss! Former AC Milan manager to replace Luciano Spalletti and told he's the 'best possible choice' for the Azzurri

Gianluigi Buffon, the Head of the National Team Delegation for Italy, officially confirmed the appointment of former Milan boss Gattuso as the new manager of the Italian national team, with the 47-year-old set to take charge of the team immediately

The Italian football federation (FIGC) announced the sacking of ex-boss Luciano Spalletti last Sunday following Gli Azzurri's harrowing 3-0 defeat to Norway in a World Cup qualifying game. In the aftermath of his sacking, FIGC approached renowned names in Italian football such as the recently-retired Claudio Ranieri as well as then-Al-Nassr manager Stefano Pioli. The former turned down the offer out of respect of his new behind-the-scenes role at Roma, while the latter had already entered into advanced stages of his move to Serie A side Fiorentina. Reports then stated that the FIGC was eyeing three national team legends in Gattuso, Fabio Cannavaro, and Daniele De Rossi for the head coach post, with Buffon now confirming that the former Marseille and Valencia coach would take over the reins of the national team. Gattuso most recently coached Hajduk Split in what was an unsuccessful one-season tenure with the Croatian side.

Speaking after Italy U21's 1-0 win over Slovakia U21 at the U21 European Championship on Saturday, Buffon said: “We have worked, we are now waiting for the final details. The president and the entire federation have had some pretty intense days, full of moments of all kinds. I think that in the end we have made the best possible choice.”

The 2021 European Championship winners will take on Estonia and Israel in their next set of World Cup qualifiers, which will be new manager Gattuso's first two games with the national side. These games are scheduled to take place during the September international break.