Italy Faces Hurdles in Talks with Pep Guardiola for National Team Job; Ancelotti Previously Contacted

The Italian Football Federation (FIGC), having failed to qualify for the World Cup for three consecutive times, is reaching out to world-class managers in succession to rebuild the national team.

The FIGC is currently in negotiations with Pep Guardiola, who managed Manchester City.

However, Paolo Maldini, the technical director of the FIGC, revealed on the 24th (Korean time) that they had also discussed the Italy national team coaching position with Brazil national team manager Carlo Ancelotti prior to that.

During a press conference held that day, Technical Director Maldini stated, "I cannot hide the fact that we spoke with Ancelotti before Guardiola," adding, "We believed we had to contact those whom we consider to be the best in the world first."

The Italy national team coaching post has been vacant since April of this year, when manager Gennaro Gattuso resigned to take responsibility for failing to qualify for the World Cup.

Although Brazil was eliminated after losing to Norway in the Round of 16 of the 2026 North and Central America World Cup, manager Ancelotti still leads the Brazilian national team.

The Brazilian Football Confederation announced that Ancelotti will maintain his position as national team manager.

As signing Ancelotti proved practically difficult, the FIGC reached out to manager Guardiola.

However, appointing manager Guardiola is also proving to be a difficult situation.

The Italian media outlet La Gazzetta dello Sport reported that Guardiola is demanding an annual salary of 20 million euros (approximately 33.6 billion KRW).

This is twice the level of the conditions proposed by the FIGC.

Technical Director Maldini said, "There is nothing specific I can say about the current progress," but added, "It would be ideal to finalize the manager appointment within this week, but finding the right person is the top priority."

Manager Guardiola has managed Manchester City and FC Barcelona, lifting numerous championship trophies including six English Premier League (EPL) titles, three La Liga titles, three UEFA Champions League (UCL) titles, and three FA Cups.

Antonio Conte, Roberto Mancini, and Andrea Pirlo are among those being mentioned alongside Guardiola as candidates for the next Italy head coach.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.