Where do Italy turn next after missing out on Guardiola? | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola is no longer in the running to become the next head coach of the Italy national team, and reports from various outlets in Italy indicate that Andrea Pirlo is the next name on the FIGC’s list of potential alternatives.

Pirlo the new favourite after Italy miss out on Guardiola

Friday’s reports have confirmed that Guardiola has ‘said no’ to the offer of taking over from Gennaro Gattuso as head coach of the Italy national team.

FIGC technical director Paolo Maldini and advisor Leonardo had flown over to Barcelona for talks with the former Manchester City head coach last weekend, but their attempts have ultimately proved to be unsuccessful.

Aside from reports of a €20m salary request, Friday’s updates claim that Guardiola is unsure about immediately stepping back into work after a 10-year stay with Manchester City, and is unsure that the nature of a ‘remote’ coaching job, where he will not see his players or staff on a day-to-day basis is the right fit for him at this stage.

Now, according to reports from various outlets including La Gazzetta dello Sport and Sky Sport Italia, Pirlo is the new favourite to become the next head coach of the Italy national team.

Official: Andrea Pirlo is the new head coach of the Dubai-based United FC of the UAE first division.

Pirlo is currently head coach of UAE First Division side Dubai United, where he has been in charge for almost exactly one year (since July 25, 2025). Pirlo’s managerial CV also includes stints with Sampdoria, Fatih Kamagumruk and Juventus, where he won the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana in 2020-21.

He is a former club and international teammate of recently-appointed FIGC technical director Maldini and briefly played alongside Leonardo during his time in San Siro.

Other candidates to be linked with the Italy national team head coach role include Roberto Mancini and Antonio Conte, whose names have somewhat faded over the last week while Guardiola and Pirlo’s candidacies were on the rise.

Maldini has also recently revealed that he spoke to Carlo Ancelotti about the job, but the former Real Madrid head coach is expected to continue in his current role in charge of Brazil for the time being.