The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) announced on its official website on Sunday that it has officially appointed Gennaro Gattuso, the country's and AC Milan's former legendary international midfielder, as the new head coach of the Italy national team.

According to the FIGC's official statement, Gattuso will officially take office on June 19. The members of Gattuso's assistant coaching team and his contract length have not been announced.

Regarding the appointment of Gattuso, FIGC President Gabriele Gravina said: "Gattuso is a symbol of Italian football, and his jersey is like his second skin. His motivation, professionalism and experience will be key to our national team's future challenges."

"He knows the importance of our goals, and I thank him for his preparation and dedication to meet the challenges. He and the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) are committed to the development of football, and I Azzurri jersey is at the core of it."

Former head coach Leonardo Spalletti recently announced that he was sacked after Italy lost to Norway.

About Gennaro Gattuso

Gattuso, 47, was born on January 9, 1978 in Corigliano Calabro, Italy. He is 1.77 meters tall and primarily played as a defensive midfielder during his playing career. He can also play as a center midfielder.

In his early years, Gattuso played for Perugia, Rangers and Salernitana, and reached the Scottish Cup final with Rangers.

In July 1999, Gattuso joined AC Milan for £8 million.

During his 13-year spell with I Rossoneri, Gattuso won the Serie A twice, the Supercoppa Italiana twice, the UEFA Champions League twice, the UEFA Super Cup twice, the Coppa Italia once and FIFA Club World Cup once.

After playing for Sion for a short time in the summer of 2012, Gattuso retired early in February of the following year as he was appointed as the club's head coach.

Since then, he has also served as the head coach of Palermo, Pisa, AC Milan, Napoli, Valencia, Marseille and Hajduk Split, but his results are not ideal.

On the international level, Gattuso officially became a member of the Italy national team in February 2000.

As one of the key players, Gattuso played 73 times for I Azzurri in all competitions in 10 years, scored 1 goal, and won the FIFA World Cup once with the team.