UEFA Nations League
Maldini says Italy will wait to land the right coach
Italy is prepared to wait to appoint its first-choice head coach, with the Azzurri's new technical director Paolo Maldini revealing talks have been held with Carlo Ancelotti as well as Pep Guardiola.… Show More
Italy is prepared to wait to appoint its first-choice head coach, with the Azzurri's new technical director Paolo Maldini revealing talks have been held with Carlo Ancelotti as well as Pep Guardiola.
Italy became the first former World Cup winners to miss three straight editions of the tournament this year, having failed to qualify in 2018, 2022 and 2026.
It was beaten on penalties by Bosnia-Herzegovina in a qualification play-off in March, with its conqueror then going on to lose to United States in the last 32 of the tournament.
Gennaro Gattuso was dismissed in the wake of that failure, and Italy has been linked with several coaches, including Roberto Mancini, Antonio Conte and Andrea Pirlo.
In recent weeks, however, speculation that it could complete a seismic deal to appoint former Manchester City boss Guardiola has mounted.
Giovanni Malago, the new president of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) said earlier this week that financial "exceptions" could be made to bring Guardiola in.
But at a press conference held to introduce Mancini as the team's new technical director and Leonardo as his advisor, it was confirmed that Ancelotti had also been contacted, despite having a contract with Brazil to run until 2030.
"The ideal thing would be to appoint the coach by this week, but even more so to wait for the person we really want. There is a hurry but not so much internally," Mancini said.
"Guardiola? We can't give news, you have identified one of the targets, but we have also spoken with Ancelotti.
"It seemed right to start with the best coaches in the world, but we need to check their general availability."
Italy won Euro 2020 under Mancini, but outside of that success, its recent tournament record has been dire.
Having suffered group-stage exits at the 2010 and 2014 World Cups, it has not played a knockout game at FIFA's flagship tournament since beating France on penalties in the 2006 final.
Legendary AC Milan defender Maldini, who had retired from international duty before the 2006 World Cup, is relishing the task of getting the Azzurri back among the world's best teams.
"I feel great responsibility and pressure; this is an ambitious project. It is a call to arms, when Italy calls, it is difficult to say no," he said.
"I didn't know the initial difficulties, but I felt the possibility of doing and something, and the willingness of everyone to participate in this rebuild.
"This was important for my choice, as well as the persuasive ability of President Malago. I used all my strength to convince Leo – between us, there is a common set of values."
Italy's next game is against Belgium in the Nations League in September, with France and Turkiye also drawn alongside those sides in a tough group.
