Italy’s national team is at a crossroads, and the federation is moving fast to find a big-name coach who can steady the ship. Talks have reportedly taken place with Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti, two of the most decorated managers in world soccer, as the Azzurri try to recover from another brutal World Cup miss.
The urgency is real. Italy has now failed to qualify for the World Cup three times in a row, a collapse that has left fans frustrated and the federation under heavy pressure to make the right call. The hope is to have a new coach in place within days, not weeks.
Paolo Maldini, now serving as the federation’s technical director, has been right in the middle of the action. He was present at a meeting with Serie A clubs, alongside FIGC president Giovanni Malagò and special advisor Leonardo, while the search for the next manager kept gathering speed.
When asked about Guardiola, Maldini didn’t try to dance around the issue. “Honestly, today we can’t give news about what’s happening. You’ve identified one of our targets,” he said, making it clear the former Manchester City boss is very much in the picture.
He also confirmed that Ancelotti was part of the discussion. “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’s name carries obvious weight. He left Manchester City after a decade that reshaped English soccer and produced trophy after trophy, while also cementing his reputation as one of the sharpest tactical minds in the sport.
Across his career, the 55-year-old has piled up 35 major titles, with success at Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and City. That kind of résumé is exactly why Italy is reaching for the top shelf instead of settling for a safe, forgettable choice.
Maldini and Leonardo recently spent three days in Barcelona speaking with Guardiola about the opening. The message from the federation seems simple enough: if there’s even a small chance to land a world-class name, they want to know now rather than later.
“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 brings a different kind of appeal, but just as much respect. He signed an extension with Brazil in May through the 2030 World Cup, yet his standing in the game is enormous after winning league titles in Italy, England, France, Spain, and Germany.
He is also the only coach to win the Champions League five times, a mark that says plenty about the kind of authority he would bring to any national team setup. Italy knows it needs more than a quick fix, and Ancelotti has the kind of gravitas that can calm a shaky room fast.
The crisis, though, didn’t come out of nowhere. Italy was stunned by a playoff loss to Bosnia and Herzegovina in March, a result that shut the door on yet another World Cup appearance and triggered resignations at the top of the federation.
Gennaro Gattuso had only taken over after Luciano Spalletti was fired the previous June, but the team was already in trouble after a damaging loss to Norway in its opening qualifier. By the time the dust settled, the whole setup looked tired, rattled, and badly in need of a reset.
Italy’s history means the pressure is even heavier. The four-time world champion is expected to compete for the biggest prizes, not spend years explaining why it cannot even get to the tournament. That is why every name in the conversation carries so much heat.
Roberto Mancini, who guided Italy to the European Championship in 2021, remains a major candidate. Antonio Conte is also in the mix, and Andrea Pirlo has surfaced as another possible option, giving the federation several paths but only one shot to get this right.
