National Team Head Coach

Commissario Tecnico Nazionale

Gennaro Ivan Gattuso

Born in Corigliano Calabro, Calabria, Gennaro Ivan Gattuso, 48, is married to Monica Romano and father of two children, Gabriela and Francesco. He has served as Head Coach of the National Team since 15 June 2025.

Now in his thirteenth year in the dugout, he has coached in Switzerland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia and Italy. His coaching career began in February 2013 at Sion, where he was player-coach, before moving to Palermo (2013/14, Serie B); OFI Crete (2014/15, Super League Greece) and Pisa (2015/16, Lega Pro), who he guided to promotion to Serie B by defeating Foggia in the play-off final.

In 2017/18, he accepted AC Milan’s offer to take charge of the Rossoneri’s Primavera side, but in November, following the dismissal of Vincenzo Montella, he was promoted to the first team. During his two seasons in charge, he finished as runner-up in both the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa Italiana against Juventus, while the Rossoneri finished sixth and fifth in the league.

In December 2019, he succeeded Carlo Ancelotti at Napoli, leading the club to victory in the Coppa Italia final and gaining revenge over Juventus, beating them on penalties. After another season in Naples, during which he again lost the Supercoppa Italiana final to Juventus, he returned to management in 2022 with Valencia. In September 2023, he replaced Marcelino at Olympique Marseille. In 2024/25, he was in charge of Hajduk Split, guiding the club to a third-place finish in the Croatian top flight.

PLAYING CAREER. He first made his mark at Perugia, where he won two Primavera league titles (1995/96 and 1996/97), scoring the decisive goal in the 2-1 win over Parma in the first final against a side featuring a young Gianluigi Buffon. After making his first-team debut, he joined Rangers in Scotland, finishing second in the league behind Celtic, before returning to Italy a year later (1998/99) to play for Salernitana.

A standout season with the Salerno-based side earned him a move to AC Milan, where he would remain for 13 years and become a Rossoneri icon. In the summer of 2012, he left the club having scored eleven goals in 468 appearances, winning two Serie A titles, two Supercoppa Italiana trophies, and the Coppa Italia, as well as the Champions League and UEFA Super Cup twice each, plus the Club World Cup.

At international level, he began with Italy’s Under-18 side before becoming a key player for the Under-21 team that won the 2000 European Under-21 Championship, earning a call-up to the senior setup at the start of 2000. He went on to take part in three World Cups (2002, 2006, and 2010) and two European Championships (2004 and 2008), playing a central role in Italy’s 2006 World Cup triumph.

GATTUSO’S ITALY CAREER / From the U18s to the senior side

NATIONAL TEAM	CAPS	MATCHDAY SQUAD	GOALS	V	N	P
UNDER 18	14	15	3	10	4	1
UNDER 21	21	24	1	17	4	3
SENIOR	73	87	1	44	26	17
TOTAL	108	126	5	71	34	21

Gennaro Ivan Gattuso spent almost 15 years wearing the Italy shirt, from his Under-18 debut on 13 September 1995 to his final match at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa on 24 June 2010. In total, he made 108 appearances for the Under-18, Under-21, and senior national teams, scoring five goals and lifting the 2006 World Cup trophy in Berlin, six years after winning the European Under-21 Championship in Slovakia.

UNDER-18. He began his Italy journey on 13 September 1995 with the U18s, coached by Francesco Rocca, who were competing in the “U. Caligaris” Tournament in Casale Monferrato at the start of the season. Later that month, the European Championship qualifiers began: in the first match on 23 September in Avezzano, he scored his first Italy goal, netting the second in a 2-0 win after Ventola had opened the scoring. At the 1996 European Championship, that Under-18 side exited at group stage, drawing two matches and losing to Spain. Gattuso went on to make 14 appearances for the U18s, scoring three goals: in addition to the one mentioned above, he bagged in a 4-0 qualifying win over Greece in La Spezia, as well as against England in Rombas, France, in a 1-1 draw during the group stage of the final tournament.

UNDER-21. He was first called up by Rossano Giampaglia for the match against England in Rieti on 10 October 1997 but remained on the bench in the 1-0 defeat that ended the Azzurrini’s campaign, eliminating them in the qualifiers after three consecutive titles. He made his debut on 25 March 1998 under Marco Tardelli, starting in a 1-0 friendly victory over Malta in Valletta. From that point, he played in all of the team’s European Championship matches – qualifiers, play-offs, and the final tournament (only missing a few friendlies over the two years) – culminating in the victory over Czechia in Bratislava on 4 June 2000, securing the Under-21s’ fourth European title. He also represented the Azzurrini at the Sydney Olympics, reaching the quarter-finals before losing 1-0 to Spain. In total, Gattuso made 21 appearances for the Under-21s, scoring once – the third in a 4-0 friendly win over Scotland in Castel di Sangro on 23 May 1998.

SENIOR NATIONAL TEAM. In his final year with the Under-21s, Gattuso made the step up to the senior National Team: on 23 February 2000, Dino Zoff brought him on at the start of the second half in a 1-0 friendly win over Sweden in Palermo. He remained part of the Azzurri squad under Giovanni Trapattoni, participating in the 2002 World Cup and the 2004 European Championship, and was one of the eight 2006 World Cup champions on the pitch from Marcello Lippi’s very first match in charge, a 2-0 defeat to Iceland in Reykjavik on 18 August 2004. In the following years, he featured in Roberto Donadoni’s squad, eliminated in the quarter-finals of Euro 2008 by Spain, and later in Lippi’s second tenure up to the 2010 World Cup. Gattuso retired from the National Team having made 73 appearances and scored one goal – the winner in a 1-0 friendly victory over England on 15 November 2000 in Turin.