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The Italian Football Confederation (FIGC) has spoken to former Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola and Brazil boss Carlo Ancelotti about taking over the crisis-stricken national team.
It hopes to announce the new Italian coach within a week, with the Azzurri still reeling after failing to qualify for the World Cup for the third time in a row.
Former Italy and AC Milan defender Paolo Maldini was appointed as the federation’s new technical director at the start of the month and was present at a meeting of Serie A clubs on Thursday, along with new FIGC president Giovanni Malagò and special adviser Leonardo.
“Honestly, today we cannot give news about what is happening. You have identified one of our targets,” Maldini said when asked about Guardiola in a post-match press conference.
“We can’t hide that we also spoke to Carlo Ancelotti before we spoke to Pep. Honestly, it seemed right to start with the best in the world, to see their general availability.”
Guardiola left Man City at the end of last season, ending a trophy-laden 10-year spell in which he established City as a force in Europe and changed the face of English football.
The 55-year-old Guardiola has won 35 major titles during his coaching career, including at Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
Maldini and Leonardo spent three days in Barcelona recently to talk to Guardiola about taking the job in Italy.
“The best would be to announce the new coach this week, but even more to wait for the person we really want,” Maldini said. “So there is urgency, but not so much inside us.”
Ancelotti signed a contract extension with Brazil in May until the 2030 World Cup. But the five-time world champions just had one of their worst ever performances on football’s biggest stage, being eliminated in the round of 16 after a 2-1 loss to Norway.
The 67-year-old Ancelotti has won league titles in Italy, England, France, Spain and Germany. He is also the only coach to have won the Champions League five times.
Four-time champions Italy missed out on a third consecutive World Cup after a playoff loss to Bosnia and Herzegovina in March led to the resignation of FIGC president Gabriele Gravina and coach Gennaro Gattuso.
Gattuso had only taken over from the sacked Luciano Spalletti the previous June, with the squad already reeling from defeat to Norway in its opening qualifier.
Former Italy coaches Roberto Mancini – who led the Azzurri to Euro 2021 – and Antonio Conte are also among the favorites to take charge of the national team. Andrea Pirlo, who helped Italy to the World Cup in 2006 as a player, is also reportedly in contention.
Report from the Associated Press.
