#2 Giampiero Ventura – Italy
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Antonio Conte was another high-profile exit after the EURO 2016 ended as he took on managerial duties at Chelsea. Conte was replaced by former Torino manager Giampiero Ventura as the manager of the Italian national team and is widely regarded as the right man to take the Azzurri forward.
The 68-year old is similar to Conte in many ways in his tactical approach and the players will find it easy to fit in under the new boss. He kicked-off his Italy career with a 3-1 loss to France in a friendly but followed it up with a 3-1 victory against a lowly Israel side in the qualifiers.
With Spain up next, Ventura will know his team will be up against it from the start and will hope that his players show the same flair as they did in the EURO 2016 dismantling of the Spaniards. After the clash against Spain, the Azzurri will take on Macedonia, a match they are expected to win easily.
Ventura has gone in without controversial striker Mario Balotelli in the squad, who has been in impressive form for OGC Nice scoring 6 goals in 5 appearances for the French side, and will hope that his strikers won’t let Super Mario’s absence be felt.
