Guardiola Rejects Italy, Takes Year Off
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- Pep Guardiola will take "at least one year" out of football and has rejected the Italy coaching job, according to a source close to the former Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Manchester City manager.
- Italy was one of four nations to approach Guardiola since he left Manchester City at the end of last season, with La Gazzetta dello Sport first reporting Friday that he had declined.
- Guardiola wants to prioritize his personal life after 10 years at Manchester City, and would consider international football when he returns — the Netherlands and England have also been credited with interest in his availability.
- Carlo Ancelotti was also approached by Italy technical director Paolo Maldini but is set to remain Brazil coach on a contract running through 2030, despite Brazil's round-of-16 World Cup exit to Norway.
- The FIGC has been searching for a new coach since Gennaro Gattuso resigned after Italy's World Cup playoff loss to Bosnia-Herzegovina in April, with Roberto Mancini, Andrea Pirlo, and Antonio Conte also linked to the post.
Why it matters: Italy's federation has been rebuffed by both Guardiola and Ancelotti five months after Gattuso's April resignation, leaving reported domestic options Conte, Pirlo, and Mancini as the remaining named candidates. The contrast between the FIGC's high-profile international targets and the domestic fallback list illustrates how visibly the search has narrowed.
