Maldini, Cairo Skeptical: “A 10-Year Plan? We’re Not the Soviet Union”

The new head coach will be appointed by the end of this week, while the plan to revitalize the national team will span about ten years: these are the timelines outlined by the new technical director, Paolo Maldini, at a press conference alongside advisor Leonardo and FIGC President Giovanni Malagò. Both aim to completely reorganize Italian soccer, starting with the youth ranks: “Italian soccer has fallen behind; today’s game is all about one-on-one play and taking the initiative: we must instill this approach in the young players. Our approach will be based on this,” said Leonardo.

“The key word is total collaboration: they will never do anything without consulting me, and I will never do anything without consulting them. I’m talking about the next six years, with the European Championship at home in mind, while Paolo is talking about 8–10 years,” said Giovanni Malagò.

Torino President Urbano Cairo, speaking with reporters after the meeting, seemed skeptical about the plan’s timeline: “Given the timeframe they’ve set—including for rebuilding—it’s probably very important to try to move things along a bit faster. In other words, as with any endeavor, the first 100 days are crucial for setting the course for every single initiative.”

“They’ve talked about 8–10 years—something not even the Soviet Union would have done. In my opinion, the timeframe needs to be much shorter. So I’ll say this: it’s clear that they’re inheriting a difficult situation, but sometimes inheriting a difficult situation is a good thing, because you come in and can do much better. So this is the only thing that, in my opinion, perhaps needs a bit of adjustment, but otherwise they’ve made a good impression on me. But they need to pick up the pace—a lot.”