Pep Guardiola has held talks about taking over as Italy manager, according to the new head of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC).
After Italy failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, losing to Bosnia and Herzegovina on penalties in the European play-offs, head coach Gennaro Gattuso and FIGC president Gabriele Gravina both left their positions. Former Italy goalkeeper and captain Gianluigi Buffon also left his position as the FIGC’s head of delegation.
It was the third time in a row that Italy have failed to qualify for the World Cup.
Giovanni Malago, former president of the Italian National Olympic Committee, was appointed as Gravina’s replacement in June. He has been leading the search for the nation’s next head coach, with Guardiola among the names considered.
Guardiola left Manchester City at the end of the 2025-26 campaign after 10 seasons with the club, where he won six Premier League titles, three FA Cups, five Carabao Cups and the Champions League. He has been replaced by ex-Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca.
While Malago said talks had taken place with Guardiola, he added that they might not go anywhere.
When asked about the possibility of hiring a big name as the team’s next coach, Malago said to Cronache di Spogliatoio: “Exceptions have been made – exceptions which, for example, may concern the name that is currently dominating the headlines: Pep Guardiola. Exceptions for obvious reasons that I won’t go into here, but it’s not certain that this will actually come to fruition.
“I do believe, however, that it was still the right thing to do and important to open a dialogue and keep it alive, to keep it going. It is absolutely not a lack of respect or consideration towards other candidates, because discussions regarding the others have already begun, and one might opt for someone who, perhaps generationally, belongs to what we might call a more recent school of thought – and there the matter is very subjective.”
Guardiola is regarded as one of the greatest managers in football’s history, winning 12 league titles across spells with City, Bayern Munich and Barcelona. He has not yet managed a national team in his 18-year senior coaching career, though said shortly before his City exit that he planned to take a break from the touchline.
“It’s not 10 years; except half a year in New York, I’ve been 17, 18 years every three days, three days, three days, three days, with people demanding trebles and winning the Premier League, that the league is a disaster,” he said at his final pre-match press conference in May. “I need to breathe a little bit and relax. I will be away a while, that is my feeling right now.”
Italy will next be in action when they get their Nations League campaign underway at home against Belgium on September 25.
