10. Giovanni Trapattoni
Known, at one time, as the most successful Italian club manager of all, Trapattoni became infamous for his Catenaccio system at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. His defensive style failed to get Italy anywhere and got him a lot of criticism.
09. Edmondo Fabbri
For four years, Edmondo Fabbri held the reigns of the Italian national team and in those four years, nothing much happened to them. He took the team to the 1966 FIFA World Cup where they were eliminated in the first round. However, his non-negative tactics get him a spot ahead of Trapattoni despite a loss to North Korea.
08. Azeglio Vicini
At the end of Enzo Bearzot’s famous reign, Vicini took on the role of manager and his job was even more important as Italy were preparing to host the World Cup in four years time. He prepared the team well and the Italians looked solid on their way to meeting a weaker Argentina in the semi-finals. However, a shocked Vicini recalls the light-blue clad stadium in Naples, which came out in support of Diego Maradona’s Argentina, who played for Napoli at the time. A third place was all they could manage but that was good enough considering it was the worst tournament of all time, in terms of goals scored.
07. Dino Zoff
He took over a squad that had failed miserably at the 1998 World Cup, falling to France in the Round of 16. The only shining hope for Italy, Roberto Baggio’s resurgence, had been neglected for the 2000 European Championships and Zoff came in for a lot of criticism. His team reached the finals of the tournament and once again met France. This time, looking for revenge, the Italians went at the French and a couple of bad refereeing calls let them down. Zoff gave in to criticism and decided to quit the post.
06. Arrigo Sacchi
Never having played professionally, Arrigo Sacchi moved from being a shoe salesman to one of Italy’s most successful coaches. Sacchi was appointed manager of the Italian team after he won back-to-back European Cups with AC Milan. An attacking manager, unlike the usual Italian lot that comes in, Sacchi took Italy to the finals of the 1994 World Cup. Despite losing to Brazil in the finals, Sacchi stayed on. Amidst criticism on his choice of playing elevens, Sacchi stayed on as coach until Euro’96. A dismal performance saw his exit at that time.
05. Vittorio Pozzo
In 1912, Vittorio Pozzo became the manager of the Italian national team for a year. Then in 1924, he took the job again before finally taking it for a longer period in 1929. His term lasted 19 years as he led Italy to the 1934 and 1938 world championships. Easily the most successful manager of all time, he stands so far below only due to the quality and standard of football at the time.
04. Ferruccio Valcareggi
He took on the coaching job alongside the great Helenio Herrera, in 1966, but a year later became the sole manager of the national team. A year later, Valcareggi led his team to the European Champions’ title in 1968 and then to the finals of the 1970 World Cup. The 4-1 loss notwithstanding, Valcareggi stayed on for the 1974 edition but failed to make an impact this time.
03. Enzo Bearzot
Sandwiched by Argentina on either side, Enzo Bearzot brought the 1982 World Cup trophy to Italy, with a team that beat the best in the world. He was severely criticized for his choice of players, especially Paolo Rossi who had not played football for two years, having been banned for match fixing. Rossi turned out to be the trump card later, as Bearzot went on to win the title. After not qualifying for the 1984 European Championships, Italy went to the 1986 World Cup where Michele Platini’s France beat them in the Round of 16. This was also Bearzot’s last tryst with the national team.
02. Marcelo Lippi
He took over the team with just two seasons to go to the 2006 FIFA World Cup and what a turnaround it was. From Trapattoni’s Catenaccio to his own brand of attacking football, Lippi created a team that fought for each other. To do that in Italy, where the clubs have always had more clout, was phenomenal and Lippi did the trick. His magic didn’t run in 2010 when he was, once again, handed the reigns of the team with two years to go.
01. Fabio Capello
Undisputedly, the best coach in terms of trophies, at club level, Fabio Capello has won the league title with every single team he has coached. While he has never had a chance to coach the Italian national team, he is the current English coach. However, he is number one on this list because in Italy, there is no football manager who can claim to have won the trophies that Capello has and for the number of times that he has. Capello is truly one of the best managers to come out of Italy and there is no doubt that his record will be hard to touch, for a while.