CT Italia, a wasted month: Maldini and Leonardo are leaving. Two favorites for the Azzurri coaching job

Yet another chapter in the ongoing saga surrounding the new head coach of the Italian national team. After Pep Guardiola turned down the offer, technical director Paolo Maldini and advisor Leonardo had put forward Andrea Pirlo as the new coach of the Azzurri, but the choice was rejected by FIGC President Giovanni Malagò due to the controversy surrounding the former Milan and Juventus midfielder’s Russian sponsor.

Following a frantic final few hours of talks, news broke that both Paolo Maldini and Leonardo have resigned in the wake of their candidate’s rejection. Sky reports this. Their departure forces the FIGC to start from scratch, and now there are two clear front-runners for the Azzurri head coaching position.

The first is Roberto Mancini, Giovanni Malagò’s preferred candidate from the very beginning. Following his stormy departure two years ago, the Jesi-born coach—a Euro 2021 champion—is eager to redeem himself and has expressed his full willingness to take the job. The other name is Antonio Conte, who is currently without a team following his departure from Napoli.  The Lecce-born coach, the favorite among Serie A presidents, stated in recent days that he has never been contacted.

With the departure of the technical director and the advisor, everything could change rapidly in the coming days. Following the failure of the Maldini-Leonardo plan, Malagò must send a strong signal and will also have to appoint a new technical director: Giorgio Chiellini’s name has come up in recent hours. Speaking to *Il Sole 24 Ore*, the FIGC president tried to put the situation into a broader perspective: “The head coach? I’ve been receiving a lot of messages since this morning. I’ll speak with everyone as soon as possible, as is only right. To rebuild our competitive credibility at the top level—where nothing can be taken for granted—we need to focus on young players who are currently between 13 and 16 years old. That’s why we need to overhaul the entire system in terms of training and culture, and that includes the head coach. It’s a matter of sowing the seeds; the ideas are very clear.” Malagò then responded sharply to criticism from Sports Minister Abodi, who had spoken of “making a bad impression”: “We’ll have to see who actually made the bad impression.” He remained silent when asked about Paolo Maldini.