Gennaro Gattuso, the former coach of French club Marseille, is close to taking over the coaching position of the Italian national team, succeeding coach Luciano Spalletti, whom the Italian Football Federation decided to dismiss earlier due to a series of negative results.

According to the French network "RMC Sport," the official announcement of Gattuso's appointment as the head coach of the Azzurri is expected next week, after both Claudio Ranieri and Stefano Pioli declined the position.

According to the same source, Gattuso will sign a contract that extends for one year with an option for an additional year, for a salary not exceeding 2 million euros annually.

The new coaching staff of the Italian national team is expected to include several prominent names, headed by Leonardo Bonucci as the first assistant, in addition to Gianluca Zambrotta and Simone Perrotta.

It is worth mentioning that Gattuso has previously coached several major clubs, most notably AC Milan and Napoli in Italy, Valencia in Spain, and Marseille in France.