Rome (EFE).- The technical director of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), the legendary Paolo Maldini, assured this Thursday that the Spaniard Pep Guardiola is “one of the targets” to become the new Italy national team coach and revealed that the organization has also maintained contact with the Italian Carlo Ancelotti, current coach of Brazil.
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“Guardiola? We cannot give news, you have identified one of the targets, but we have also spoken with Ancelotti. It seemed fair to us to start with the best in the world, but we have to verify their general availability,” said Maldini in a press conference from the Serie A headquarters in Milan (northern Italy).
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Maldini avoided setting deadlines for the appointment of the new head coach, although he acknowledged that the federation’s desire is to resolve the situation as soon as possible: “The ideal scenario would be to appoint the head coach this very week, but it is even more important to wait for the person we truly want. There is a rush, but deep down, not that much of one,” he noted.
“I feel a great responsibility and pressure, there is an ambitious project here. It is a call to arms; when Italy calls, it is difficult to say no. I did not know the initial difficulties, but I felt the possibility of getting things done and everyone’s willingness to participate in the renewal,” he added.
Role played by the FIGC president, Giovanni Malagò
Maldini, a Milan legend, also highlighted the role played by the president of the FIGC, Giovanni Malagò, in convincing him to take the position, and revealed that he personally insisted on bringing in the former Brazilian footballer Leonardo as a sporting advisor.
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Leonardo took the floor to emphasize that they want to appoint the ‘Azzurra’ coach “as soon as possible,” and highlighted his good rapport with Maldini, with whom he shared a locker room and worked in the management area of the ‘rossonero’ team: “Paolo and I have been accomplices in dreams and ideas for many years now. This strong proposal came to him, which, as the days went by, became his dream and, therefore, mine as well.”
The words of both former footballers come two days after Malagò confirmed that negotiations with Guardiola remain open and admitted that the federation is willing to make a budgetary exception to try to close the signing of the Catalan coach, although he warned that there are no guarantees of reaching an agreement.
Italy has been looking for a new head coach since the resignation of Gennaro Gattuso last April, who left the position after failing to qualify for the World Cup.
On Thursday morning, during a meeting in Milan between FIGC leaders and Serie A club executives at the league’s first assembly, the federation revealed that it is considering several options for the coaching position and that, for the moment, it is not ruling any of them out.
Guardiola, Roberto Mancini, and Andrea Pirlo are among the top candidates, although the federation does not rule out other alternatives, and the option of the former Manchester City, Bayern Munich, and Barcelona manager appears complex given his intention to step away from the bench this season.
