Italy FA in Guardiola talks, salary exceptions floated
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- FIGC president Giovanni Malago confirmed talks with 55-year-old Pep Guardiola about the Italy job and said "exceptions" could be made for his salary, while noting the appointment "is not certain"
- Italy has been without a head coach since Gennaro Gattuso resigned in April after the country failed to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup
- Guardiola left Manchester City this summer after 10 years that yielded six Premier League titles, three FA Cups, five League Cups and the Champions League
- Roberto Mancini, who guided Italy to the Euro 2020 title, and Andrea Pirlo, currently managing Dubai United, are also in the frame, though Malago said the candidate pool is not limited to those three
- Only two non-Italians have ever managed Italy's men's team: Hungarian Lajos Czeizler via technical committee in the 1950s and Argentine Helenio Herrera as joint manager with Ferruccio Valcareggi in the following decade
- Guardiola has never coached in Italy but speaks fluent Italian and played in Serie A across two spells at Brescia and one at Roma from 2001 to 2003, per the source
Why it matters: Hiring Guardiola would break a near-total convention — Italy's men's team has had only two foreign-appointed managers in its history, both in technical-committee roles in the 1950s and '60s. The willingness to carve out salary "exceptions" quantifies how badly the FIGC wants a marquee name after a third straight World Cup miss, with Mancini and Pirlo still in the running as alternatives.
