The Italian football federation (FIGC) has approached Pep Guardiola, the former Manchester City coach, and Carlo Ancelotti, the Brazil manager, about taking over the crisis-hit national team. Italy hopes to announce the new coach within the week, after failing for a third consecutive time to qualify for the World Cup.
Maldini confirms talks with top coaches
Paolo Maldini, the former Italy and Milan defender, was named as the federation’s new technical director at the start of the month. He was present at a meeting with Serie A clubs on Thursday, alongside FIGC president Giovanni Malagò and special advisor Leonardo. Maldini stated: “Honestly, today we can’t give news about what’s happening. You’ve identified one of our targets. We can’t hide that we also talked with Carlo Ancelotti before talking with Pep. Honestly, it seemed right to start with the best in the world, to see their general availability.”
Guardiola and Ancelotti: top candidates
Guardiola left Manchester City at the end of last season after a trophy-laden 10-year spell, during which he established the club as a European force. The 55-year-old has won numerous major titles across his coaching career, including at Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Maldini and Leonardo spent three days in Barcelona recently to speak with Guardiola about the Italy job. “The best thing would be to announce the new coach this week, but even more to wait for the person we really want,” Maldini said. “So there’s urgency, but not so much inside us.”
Ancelotti signed a contract extension with Brazil in May through to the 2030 World Cup. However, Brazil had one of their worst performances on football’s biggest stage, eliminated in the last 16 after a 2-1 loss to Norway. The 67-year-old has won league titles in Italy, England, France, Spain, and Germany, and is the only coach to have won the Champions League five times.
Italy’s World Cup struggles
Italy, four-time world champions, missed out on a third straight World Cup after a playoff loss to Bosnia and Herzegovina in March. This prompted the resignations of FIGC president Gabriele Gravina and head coach Gennaro Gattuso. Gattuso had taken over from the fired Luciano Spalletti the previous June, with the team already struggling after a defeat to Norway in their opening qualifier.
Other potential candidates include former Italy coaches Roberto Mancini, who led the Azzurri to victory in Euro 2021, and Antonio Conte. Andrea Pirlo, who helped Italy win the 2006 World Cup as a player, is also reportedly in contention.
