Italy sound out Guardiola as next coach, told talk lasted 'one minute'
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- Italy (FIGC) sounded out Pep Guardiola after Gattuso's resignation following April's World Cup playoff loss to Bosnia-Herzegovina, but the conversation lasted "barely one minute" because Guardiola plans at least a year away from the game after leaving Manchester City in May.
- Three other national teams have also contacted Guardiola's camp in recent weeks about an international role, with some willing to wait given no major international tournaments are scheduled next year; the Netherlands are also believed to be interested after Ronald Koeman's departure following a round-of-32 loss to Morocco.
- The Football Association has stated it will stick with Thomas Tuchel despite England's World Cup semifinal defeat to Argentina, though Guardiola "could be open to the role in the future."
- Italy's coaching search has been complicated by the need to first elect a new FIGC president — Giovanni Malagò won on June 22 over Giancarlo Abete — before appointing Paolo Maldini as technical director and Leonardo as a consultant to help lead the managerial hunt.
- Antonio Conte and Roberto Mancini remain the front-runners for the Italy job, with Andrea Pirlo also linked, even as Italy have now missed three consecutive World Cups (2018, 2022, and this summer).
- Italy won the 2021 European Championship under Mancini and lifted the World Cup for a fourth time in 2006, but have failed to escape the group stage at both 2010 and 2014 tournaments since.
Why it matters: Italy's failure to qualify for a third straight World Cup triggered a governance reset — new FIGC president, Maldini and Leonardo now installed — yet the federation's marquee target essentially rejected them within a minute, leaving Conte and Mancini as the realistic options for a federation that badly needs to reverse a deepening cycle of tournament absences.
