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Pep Guardiola came close to taking the Italy job: he even wrote down lineups before saying no
Pep Guardiola came very close to becoming Italy's head coach. Talks progressed to the point where the Spanish manager began writing down potential lineups during a meeting with Paolo Maldini, but he ultimately turned down the opportunity because he needed time to rest.
Pep Guardiola came very close to becoming Italy's head coach. Talks progressed to the point where the Spanish manager began writing down potential lineups during a meeting with Paolo Maldini, but he ultimately turned down the opportunity because he needed time to rest.
Maldini, the former technical director of the 'Azzurra', revealed details of the negotiations in an interview published Sunday by Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.
"He was very tempted. He was close to accepting. He even started writing lineups on a piece of paper," Maldini said of the former Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City manager.
Why did Guardiola turn down Italy?
According to Maldini, money was not the reason Guardiola ultimately decided against taking the Italy job. Instead, it was the exhaustion he had accumulated over the previous years.
"Guardiola is coming off 10 exhausting years in the Premier League. He had back surgery. He wants to rest," Maldini explained.
The possibility of coaching a national team had already caught Guardiola's attention. According to Maldini, the Spaniard had expressed his interest through mutual friends, prompting the Italian officials to travel to Barcelona to meet him.
"We went to visit him in Barcelona, had lunch together and talked all day," he said.
The discussions went well beyond an initial approach. Maldini said they analyzed Italy's different squads, going all the way down to the U-17 level.
"It was a very serious conversation. We analyzed the squads, from the U-17s onward," Maldini added.
Guardiola did not reject Italy because of money
Maldini also dismissed claims that Guardiola's financial demands prevented an agreement and denied that the Spanish coach had requested €20 million.
"Money was never an issue. Pep told us clearly: give me one euro less than the previous coach was earning and that's enough for me," Maldini explained.
Italy had previously considered Carlo Ancelotti, but that option did not materialize after Brazil reaffirmed its full confidence in the coach.
Attention then turned to Guardiola, whom Maldini described as "the coach who best represents technical and attacking football."
Ultimately, after Guardiola decided he needed to rest, Italian Football Federation president Giovanni Malagó chose Roberto Mancini as Italy's head coach.
