June 13 (Reuters) - Roberto Mancini has left Al Sadd, the Qatar Stars League champions announced on Saturday, with the 61-year-old coach widely expected to return to the Italy national team.
Mancini, who led Italy to their last success by winning Euro 2020, had signed a contract with the Qatari side until 2027 after anunsuccessful spell with the Saudi nationalteam.
Italian media report that Mancini is the favourite to coach Italy, with the four-time world champions seeking to regain momentum after failing to qualify for a third successive World Cup.
In April, Gennaro Gattuso left the job of Italy coach after a World Cup qualifying defeat to Bosnia & Herzegovina and the team have since been led by Silvio Baldini who stepped up from under-21 manager to fill the gap.
Despite winning the QSL, Al Sadd failed to reach the final four of the AFC Champions League Elite and lost in the Qatar Cup final.
(Reporting by Mohamed Yossry in Cairo, editing by Clare Fallon)
