Silvio Baldini is the new coach of the Under-21 national team.

Silvio Baldini is ready to take on a new challenge with the Under 21 national team, after having brought Pescara back to Serie B, the Tuscan coach, wanted on the Azzurrini bench by Gianluigi Buffon, will begin the qualifications for the 2027 European Championship in September, which also offers the pass to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

Gabriele Gravina (ANSA/FABIO FRUSTACI)

"We have entrusted the Under-21 national team to an excellent coach," said FIGC President Gabriele Gravina, "a person of great talent and values. Baldini has the human qualities and technical knowledge to help the Azzurrini make a significant leap in quality. Our primary goal is participation in the Los Angeles Olympics, which is why I shared with Maurizio Viscidi and Gianluigi Buffon the need to entrust ourselves to an experienced leader capable of building a medium- to long-term project."

"I'm happy and excited," Baldini said. "I thank President Gravina for the opportunity and his confidence. I'm gratified that he's interested in my career and thought of me for this role. Wearing the national team is a source of great pride, and I'll try to instill this strong sense of identity and belonging in the boys. From a technical standpoint, I'm convinced we can do very well, but the only way I know to achieve results is through hard work, and that's why I can't wait to get started."

The Tuscan coach, born in 1958, who won the 2023 Serie C Golden Bench Award after Palermo's promotion to Serie B in the 2021/2022 season, repeating his success in June with Pescara, boasts extensive coaching experience: starting in the Second Category (Bagnone), he has worked his way up to Serie A (Catania, Empoli, Lecce, and Parma). His debut is scheduled for September 5, in Spezia against Montenegro, in the first match of Group E (also including Armenia, North Macedonia, Poland, and Sweden) of the European Championship qualifiers, which will be held in Albania in June 2027. Andrea Barzagli, 2006 World Cup winner and 2004 European Under-21 champion, returns to Club Italia as assistant coach. He had already worked as a technical assistant for the youth national teams, from the Under-20s to the Under-15s, between 2021 and 2023. Carmine Nunziata returns to the Under-20 national team bench after two years.