Italian federation president confirms talks with Guardiola 🇮🇹 | OneFootball

The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) has confirmed that it has a clear and ambitious target to get the Azzurra back to a World Cup: Pep Guardiola.

The federation’s president, Giovanni Malagò, publicly confirmed talks with the former Manchester City manager, led by national teams director Paolo Maldini and advisor Leonardo.

"Exceptions were made that, for example, may refer to the name that is so dominant at the moment: Pep Guardiola. Exceptions for obvious reasons that I will not mention here, but it is not certain that the deal will go through," Malagò told the YouTube channel Cronache Di Spogliatoio.

The goal of the "Operation Guardiola" is clear: to prepare the team for the 2030 World Cup, after the historic embarrassment of missing out on the 2018, 2022, and 2026 editions (the latter after losing the spot on penalties to Bosnia).

Details of the negotiations

Financial Effort: Malagò admitted that the Federation is willing to break its own financial ceilings and make exclusive concessions to convince the Spanish coach.

Pep’s Moment: Guardiola began his sabbatical after 10 remarkable seasons at Manchester City. In addition, he has strong ties to Italy, where he played for Brescia and Roma.

Plan B: Aware of how difficult the signing would be, Italy is holding parallel talks with other names. Andrea Pirlo and Roberto Mancini are on the radar, but the federation is also evaluating coaches from a "more recent school."

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.

📸 DARREN STAPLES - AFP or licensors