Italy ‘hold talks’ with Pep Guardiola in bid to end 12-year World Cup absence | OneFootball

Italy have reportedly held talks with Pep Guardiola in a bid to convince him to take over as their national team coach.

The Azzurri missed out on a third successive World Cup in March after play-off final heartbreak at the hands of Bosnia and Herzegovina, leading to the departure of Gennaro Gattuso.

And in a bid to end this dismal streak after 12 years without World Cup football, Sky in Italy are reporting that Italian Football Federation have made an ambitious approach towards decorated former Manchester City boss Guardiola.

Italy icon Paolo Maldini, who has been newly appointed the technical director of the FIGC, travelled to Barcelona alongside advisor Leonardo to speak with the Catalan, who left City after 10 glory-laden years at the end of last season.

A four-year plan was outlined to Guardiola who is prioritising project over salary when deciding his next step.

It remains to be seen whether Guardiola is keen to take the job but the FIGC is making serious efforts to convince him, with Maldini and Leonardo speaking to Guardiola over three days.

Pep Guardiola has reportedly held talks with Italy (Getty Images)

Italy have only ever had one foreign manager and that was 60 years ago, with Argentine Helenio Herrera taking charge of the team alongside Italian Fercuccio Valcareggi between 1966 and 1967.

If they fail in their bid to land Guardiola, the FIGC is also examining Roberto Mancini and Andrea Pirlo as potential candidates, two figures who have been at the heart of the Italy setup in the past - whether as a player or manager.

Guardiola said before his City exit that he wasn’t planning on taking a new job “for a while”, citing a lack of “energy” - just as his storied rival Jurgen Klopp said when he departed Liverpool.

"No plans for [coaching] for a while,” he said during his final press conference for the club. “Otherwise I would be here. I need to step back. I will not [coach] for a while.

"I feel I will not have the energy every day, with expectations to fight for the title. I know myself, I have that energy, but I feel like I will not have it [in the future]."