Maldini and Leonardo: Italy spoke to Guardiola and Ancelotti, waiting for ideal candidate

Paolo Maldini and Leonardo confirm they have spoken to both Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti for the Italy job, but won’t be hasty. ‘The ideal would be to wait for the person we really want.’

The FIGC President Giovanni Malagò, new Italy technical director Maldini and his special advisor Leonardo met with the Lega Serie A this afternoon, the coalition of 20 top flight clubs, and then held a press conference.

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, ITALY – MARCH 5: Giovanni Malago, President of the Organising Committee for the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, speaks during the mural inauguration ahead of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympic Games at the Cortina Paralympic Village on March 05, 2026 in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. (Photo by Linnea Rheborg/Getty Images for IPC) It was originally meant to be just Malagò, and you can read his comments here , but he then handed over the stage to Maldini and Leonardo.

The press was warned before it started not to ask the name of the new Italy coach, but they could discuss characteristics and strategies.

Maldini and Leonardo revamping Italian football BERGAMO, ITALY – FEBRUARY 16: AC Milan Sporting Strategy & Development Director Paolo Maldini and AC Milan Club Sporting Director Leonardo De Araujo before the Serie A match between Atalanta BC and AC Milan at Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia on February 16, 2019 in Bergamo, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images) “The ideal would be to have the coach by the end of this week, but perhaps even more ideal would be to wait for the person we really want,” said Maldini.

“There is a certain hurry, but not a hasty one.”

How can Maldini and Leonardo convince Guardiola, and what work will they do with the academies?

“It is understandable that people are in a rush, we are too, but the process is important to clarify what it is that we want,” added Leonardo.

“We have some clear ideas in our minds on what to do.”

BURNLEY, ENGLAND – APRIL 22: Pep Guardiola, Manager of Manchester City, arrives at the stadium prior to the Premier League match between Burnley and Manchester City at Turf Moor on April 22, 2026 in Burnley, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images) It is known that Guardiola has been contacted with a weekend of meetings in Barcelona, so what is he hesitating over?

“We cannot give news on what is happening today. You know one of our objectives,” added Maldini.

“We cannot deny that we also spoke to Carlo Ancelotti before talking to Pep, and it felt only right to start with those we considered to be the best in the world. So we needed to get a general idea of their availability.”

Ancelotti only recently signed a new contract with Brazil, so leaving that job would’ve been a very difficult ask.

MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA – JUNE 24: Carlo Ancelotti, Head Coach of Brazil, walks out of the tunnel for the second half during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group C match between Scotland and Brazil at Miami Stadium on June 24, 2026 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images) It is a return to Italian football for both Leonardo and Maldini, who had worked together at Milan.

“I feel the pressure, as seen by how much time it took the President to convince me, as it is a very ambitious project. When Italy calls, it is hard to say no, this was a call to arms,” noted Maldini.

“There are shared principles, values and ideas with Leonardo, as well as a bond of friendship, so I managed to convince him.”

BERGAMO, ITALY – FEBRUARY 16: AC Milan Sporting Strategy & Development Director Paolo Maldini and AC Milan Club Sporting Director Leonardo De Araujo before the Serie A match between Atalanta BC and AC Milan at Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia on February 16, 2019 in Bergamo, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images) Leonardo added that they have “shared ideas and dreams for many years, and hoped that an opportunity would come for us to make those dreams come to reality. We had a lot of things in our minds, it was just a matter of putting them into action.

“We also needed this positive energy during a difficult moment, when people are negative and pessimistic around Italian football, but there are many people who want to create a movement, with the Lega, the fans, the academies, the media. It has to be a movement, or we’ll achieve nothing if we don’t all work together.”

There was more news today, as the FIGC has created a permanent office within the Lega Serie A for a representative of Club Italia, who can co-ordinate strategy and calendars.

ROME, ITALY – FEBRUARY 03: (L-R) Paolo Maldini and Leonardo of Milan look on before the Serie A match between AS Roma and AC Milan at Stadio Olimpico on February 3, 2019 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images) “My role did not exist before this, so we’ll try to give some football ideas to the Nazionale, which is a big change,” added Maldini.

“I do feel everyone feels involved and eager to help the renovation process, and that speaks to the persuasive powers of the President.”

Much has been said about the strategy and Leonardo gave a few clues as to how Italian football would be changed from the ground up.

“The Federation has three worlds, so it’s the Nazionale, the youth teams, and the academies,” continued Leonardo.

“There was no strategy connecting all of them, but that is what we are trying to do now. It is not a new approach, we’ve seen other countries do it successfully.

“Italian football is behind the times, it is not focused on taking players on, being pro-active, learning those skills and giving players the freedom to play and learn.

“So we want to set some guidelines to the academies upwards on what kind of things to focus on and how to raise the general level of teaching the players.”

With names like Guardiola, Andrea Pirlo and Roberto Mancini being mentioned, is there a connecting thread?

“We want a coach who has views of football that are more or less like ours,” explained Leonardo.

“There are many different types of coaches who can be winning, but the importance is to find a unity of thought between the coach and the technical directors. Until now, there was a FIGC President, a Nazionale coach who was more or less in charge of the youth teams too.

“This is a problem, because if the coach changes every two or three years, then so does everything else. What we need is guidelines that can then trickle down to every level. That takes time.

“At the same time as that, we also need to get the senior Italy squad ready, because there are games coming up soon.”