Diana Bianchedi to replace Buffon as Italy team coordinator

Former Olympic foil champion Diana Bianchedi has been appointed as Italy’s new national team director and general coordinator, succeeding former goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon.

Giovanni Malago, president of the Italian Football Federation, confirmed that Bianchedi would formally take up the role in the coming period. Her appointment represents a significant change in direction for the Italy set-up because, unlike her predecessors, she does not have a background in football.

Buffon left the position after Italy were beaten by Bosnia and Herzegovina in a World Cup play-off in March. The former Juventus and Italy goalkeeper had taken on the role after a long playing career that included four World Cups and the 2006 tournament victory, although those details were not included in the announcement of his departure.

Bianchedi’s appointment was outlined by Malago in comments to Italian sports newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport. She will become the latest high-profile figure to serve as general coordinator of the national team, following Buffon, Gianluca Vialli and Gigi Riva.

Her sporting achievements come in fencing rather than football. Competing in foil, Bianchedi won two Olympic gold medals, at the 1992 and 2000 Games. She later held a number of senior positions within the Italian Olympic Committee, including becoming its vice-president in 2025.

Malago said the decision reflected a desire to place football within the wider structure of Italian sport rather than treating it as a separate institution.

“Football must not be treated as an entity separate from the other sports,” he said.

He added that Bianchedi brought substantial international experience and an impressive professional record, as well as having played an important role in major Olympic matters.

“Bianchedi has considerable international experience and an outstanding curriculum, in addition to her important role in major Olympic affairs,” Malago said.

He described the appointment as part of a broader change in approach for the national team and Italian football.

“This decision represents a cultural revolution, and aims to return football to the heart of the sporting system as an integrated whole,” he added.

Bianchedi also holds a degree in medicine and surgery and has experience in sports administration. Those qualifications, combined with her Olympic record and work within the Italian Olympic Committee, have made her one of Italy’s most prominent sporting figures.

Her arrival gives the Italy national team a general coordinator whose expertise lies in elite sport, institutional management and Olympic competition rather than in the traditional football pathway followed by Buffon, Vialli and Riva. The formal handover from Buffon is expected to take place in the near future.