Claudio Ranieri has been talking to Radio anch’io sport. The former Premier League winning boss is now in charge at Ligue 1 side Nantes and it was thought that he could be one of the contenders to take over the Italian national team job, after their failure to qualify for this summer’s World Cup.
 

Ranieri however, is not on the short-list and he stated that; “I’m not in the race; why? Because they never called me.”
 

He continued; “Anyway, I have a contract with Nantes and if they did call me, I’d have to speak with my current employers.”

Asked about the current state of the Azzurri,he explained that; “We need time to create a new group of players. We have some good young talent but they lack international experience.
 

We may not have talent of the likes of Gigi Riva, Alessandro Del Piero, Francesco Totti and Roberto Baggio, but give them time, we are in an era where people want success immediately but we must be patient.”
 

Finally, on the subject of Mario Balotelli’s omission from the two friendlies against Argentina and England, Ranieri stated that; “He is making the difference in France. I watch him every Sunday and I believe he should be given another chance.”