
Keystone
Desired candidate Claudio Ranieri will not succeed the sacked Luciano Spalletti as Italy's national team coach.
The 73-year-old, who most recently worked at AS Roma, has turned the national association down. According to Ranieri, the offer was a great honor, but he had changed his mind after some thought.
The name Stefano Pioli is now being bandied about. The former AC Milan coach is currently working at Al-Nassr FC in Saudi Arabia, Cristiano Ronaldo's club. Spalletti was sacked on Sunday after Italy lost 3-0 in Norway on Friday in the opening match of the World Cup qualifiers. The Squadra Azzurra are in danger of missing out on the World Cup finals for the third time in a row.