Italian Football Federation President: We have been in contact with Guardiola

Italian Football Federation (FIGC) president Giovanni Malago confirmed on Tuesday that they had made initial contact with Pep Guardiola.

In April of this year, former Italian coach Gennaro Gattuso resigned after failing to lead the team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. With the resignations of Football Federation President Gabriel Gravina and national team manager Gianluigi Buffon, the Azzurri have officially entered a rebuilding phase.

On July 19th local time, Sky Sports Italy broke a major story: newly appointed national team technical director Paolo Maldini and advisor Leonardo have personally traveled to Barcelona to meet with Pep Guardiola, attempting to persuade him to take over as head coach of the Italian national team. This news quickly sparked heated discussions in the football world and was subsequently confirmed by Marago himself.

“Saying we need to tighten our belts doesn’t even begin to describe our current financial situation. But there are certainly exceptions, such as the currently high-profile Pep Guardiola,” Malago stated clearly in an interview with Cronache di spogliatoio. “For obvious reasons, he can be considered a special case, which I won’t elaborate on here. Of course, whether this will actually happen is still uncertain.”

He added, “I think it’s the right thing to do to initiate conversations and stay in touch. This is by no means disrespectful or ignoring of other candidates, as we have also begun to reach out to other people. Ultimately, we may choose a younger, newer generation coach who is younger in terms of coaching philosophy and era, and there is a lot of subjective judgment involved in that.”

The 55-year-old Guardiola has won a total of 41 titles during his tenure as a manager, including 3 Champions League titles, 4 Club World Cup titles, 4 UEFA Super Cup titles, 3 La Liga titles, 2 Copa del Rey titles, 3 Spanish Super Cup titles, 3 Bundesliga titles, 2 DFB-Pokal titles, 6 Premier League titles, 3 FA Cup titles, 5 League Cup titles, and 3 Community Shield titles. He has been unemployed since leaving Manchester City in June and currently prefers to take a break.

The Italian Football Federation is also considering other head coach candidates, including Antonio Conte, Roberto Mancini, and Andrea Pirlo. According to the schedule, the Azzurri will face Belgium in a UEFA Nations League group stage match on September 25th.

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