Italy face Montella: 9 Italian coaches who previously led rival teams against the Azzurri

Italy are set to face Türkiye, led by Italian coach Vincenzo Montella, in the UEFA Nations League, a match that recalls a list of Italian coaches who have previously managed foreign teams against their own national side.

Vincenzo Montella took over as coach of Türkiye in 2023 and previously faced Italy once during a Friendly match held in Bologna on June 4, 2024, which ended in a goalless draw 0-0.

Before Montella, several Italian coaches faced their national team while managing other teams, starting with Alfredo Foni, who led Switzerland in two matches during the UEFA Euro 1968 qualifiers. The first ended in a 2-2 draw in Bern, before Italy won 4-0 in the return match in Cagliari.

In modern times, Giovanni Trapattoni was one of the prominent names to face Italy, having taken charge of the Republic of Ireland. He played four matches against the "Azzurri", two of which ended in draws of 1-1 and 2-2 in the FIFA World Cup 2010 qualifiers, before Ireland won 2-0 in a Friendly in 2011, and then Italy responded with a 2-0 victory in the group stage of the UEFA Euro 2012.

Alberto Zaccheroni faced Italy when he was the coach of Japan in the 2013 Confederations Cup, in a thrilling match that ended with Italy winning 4-3.

Gianni De Biasi, who faced Italy twice while managing Albania, lost 0-1 in a Friendly in 2014 and then 0-2 in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers in 2018. Following him, Christian Panucci faced the Italian national team with Albania and lost 0-1 in October 2017. Then, Edi Reja led Albania against Italy in a Friendly in 2022, which ended with the "Azzurri" winning 3-1.

Marco Rossi, Hungary's coach, faced Italy twice in the FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers, losing in both matches 1-2 and then 0-2.

Michele Marcolini faced Italy twice as Malta's coach, losing 0-2 and 0-4 in the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers.

Domenico Tedesco was the last Italian coach to face Italy before Montella, when he was in charge of Belgium, and the two teams drew 2-2 in Rome, before Italy won 1-0 in Belgium in the UEFA Nations League 2024-2025.