Paolo Maldini now likely to take up Azzurri technical director role | OneFootball

As revealed by Sky Sport Italia’s Gialuca Di Marzio, Paolo Maldini is now closer to accepting the role of technical director of the Italy men’s national football team.

The news comes a week after it was announced that he would be reluctant to take the role, with Claudio Ranieri and even Gianluigi Buffon, who resigned after the World Cup play-offs aftermath, linked with the role.

It is believed that newly elected FIGC president Giovanni Malagò is keen to go about things the right away and will elect a technical director first, who will then have the freedom to elect a head coach of their choosing.

The Azzurri, currently led by caretaker Silvio Baldini, are not in action until late September, when they kick off their UEFA Nations League 2026/27 campaign against Belgium.

Maldini a promising candidate

Choosing a technical director ahead of a coach is the right way to go about things. Any football organisation would cherish free-flowing football, but that ought not to be the defining characteristic of any institution’s hierarchy, be it in club or international football.

Besides, Maldini’s track record speaks for itself, and so does what has transpired at Milan since his departure three seasons ago. In time, he could help Italy at least mount a comeback on the national stage.

With their next big challenge at least four years away (that is, qualifying for the World Cup in 2030), it is imperative that the FIGC plan ahead and let Maldini’s quintessential calmness exude into their hierarchy and then onto the pitch.

Anshuman Joshi | GIFN