Guardiola’s potential Italy appointment divides opinion | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola has emerged as one of the possible candidates for the Italy job after the Azzurri failed yet another attempt to qualify for the World Cup, causing different reactions across Italian media and pundits.

Guardiola has officially left Manchester City after ten years, leaving his spot at the Etihad Stadium to his former assistant Enzo Maresca.

Why is Guardiola being linked with the Italy job?

Media in the Peninsula have suggested that Guardiola is an option for the Italy role, especially after ex-Azzurri defender Leonardo Bonucci said it would be a dream to see Pep sit on the bench at Coverciano.

“Following the list of names that have emerged these days, if there’s a genuine desire to start again, I’d do so with the rumoured possibility of having Pep Guardiola, because bringing him would mean making a drastic change from the past,” Bonucci said in March, via Gazzetta.

“I think it’s very hard, but dreaming doesn’t cost anything.”

BERGAMO, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 05: Leonardo Bonucci of Italy during the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier match between Italy and Estonia at Stadio di Bergamo on September 05, 2025 in Bergamo, Italy. (Photo by Mattia Ozbot/Getty Images)

Bonucci had been serving as Gennaro Gattuso’s assistant from June 2025 to last March, when the Azzurri lost to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the World Cup play-off final, missing qualification for the third time in a row.

Italy fans would have loved to see the Azzurri among the best offshore betting sites for the World Cup, but unfortunately, the tournament played in Brazil in 2014 remains their last appearance in the competition.

Guardiola is regarded as one of the best coaches of all time, if not the best, yet not all Italian pundits feel the Spaniard would be a good pick for the Italy job.

Manchester City’s Spanish manager Pep Guardiola gestures on the touchline during the UEFA Champions League, league phase football match between Manchester City and Inter Milan at the Etihad stadium, in Manchester, north-west England, on September 18, 2024 (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP) (Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)

“Guardiola is a great coach with great quality. He’s always done well at a club level,” ex-Italian coach Capello said earlier this week.

“The national team [coach] is a different job; you don’t work with the team every day, and that’s where the difficulty lies. You are not a coach, you are a selector. Therefore, you must be good at finding the right players who can truly play for the national team the same way they do at their clubs. This is exactly the problem. Many players, when they put on the Italy shirt, tighten up.

“We are talking about a great coach, but if he needs two midfielders, they’ll buy them for him; he’s accustomed to this,” Capello continued.

“In here, you don’t find them; that’s the difference. The team has to improve in a different way. He’s a great coach, as his results and everything he’s achieved show. He’s a smart person, too; he might understand how to do it right away.”

Italy will name a new coach after June 22, 2026, when the new FIGC President will be elected.

Guardiola remains an unlikely candidate for the Italy job, with Antonio Conte, Claudio Ranieri, Massimiliano Allegri and Roberto Mancini currently seen as the favourites to sit on the Azzurri’s bench.