Italy FA in talks with ‘top coach’ as Maldini rules out rush amid Guardiola links

The Italian Football Federation has opened formal talks with an experienced coach to take charge of the Azzurri, with new technical director Paolo Maldini confirming the move while stressing that Pep Guardiola is not the only candidate under consideration.

Maldini and his adviser Leonardo set out the current state of the search during a press conference on Thursday, held after a meeting between federation president Giovanni Malago and representatives of Serie A clubs. Both refused to reveal the identity of the preferred candidate, instead outlining the broader technical project being built around the national team.

Maldini said the federation hopes to reach a decision in the coming days but insisted that speed will not come at the expense of making the right appointment.

“The ideal situation is to sign the coach before the end of the week,” he said, in comments reported by Football Italia. “But even better than that is waiting for the person we really want. There is urgency, but it’s not the kind of urgency that pushes us into a hasty decision.”

Guardiola and Ancelotti contacted

Maldini revealed that the federation has already spoken to some of the most highly regarded managers in the game as it assesses its options.

“We cannot deny that we spoke to Carlo Ancelotti before we contacted Pep Guardiola,” he said. “It was natural to start with those we consider the best in the world, just to understand how available they might be.”

He and Leonardo declined to give any details on how those conversations progressed or whether Guardiola has indicated a willingness to accept the job. The situation is further complicated by Ancelotti having recently extended his contract with Brazil, which Maldini acknowledged makes any move for him “extremely difficult” at this stage.

Previous media reports in Italy have suggested that Guardiola is leaning towards turning down the post after requesting a salary of €20m per year, double what the Italian side is understood to have offered. Neither Maldini nor Leonardo commented directly on those claims, nor did they confirm whether the current negotiations concern Guardiola, Ancelotti or another candidate.

Maldini explains decision to take federation role

Maldini, who has only recently accepted the role of technical director at the federation, said he did so after a lengthy period of reflection, driven above all by the scale of the project being proposed.

He said: “I felt the weight of the responsibility, and that’s why it took time for me to be convinced. When the Italy national team calls you, it becomes difficult to say no.”

He added that his long-standing relationship with Leonardo, and their shared outlook on how the game should be played and organised, had been central to shaping the new project being put in place for the national team.

Overhaul of Italian football philosophy

Leonardo underlined that the federation’s plans extend far beyond naming a successor for the current Italy coach, describing the process as a complete reset of the philosophy underpinning Italian football.

He said the aim is to create a single, unified pathway that links the senior national team, youth national teams and club academies – an area he believes has lacked a coherent strategy in recent years.

According to Leonardo, the federation wants to establish clear technical principles that are introduced at academy level and maintained all the way to the senior side. The focus will be on improving players’ technical ability and encouraging a more proactive, attacking style of play, something he feels Italian football has been slow to embrace compared with several other leading nations.

Leonardo stressed that any new coach must buy into this vision.

He said the main criterion will not be the reputation of the individual alone, but how closely their ideas align with the long-term technical project the federation is trying to implement.

While acknowledging that building such a structure will require time, Leonardo also highlighted the need to act quickly in preparing the senior side, with important competitive fixtures on the horizon for Italy.