Malagò lifts lid on Italy coach saga: Guardiola talks, Pirlo collapse and Maldini exit

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, ITALY - MARCH 5: Giovanni Malago, President of the Organising Committee for the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, speaks during the mural inauguration ahead of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympic Games at the Cortina Paralympic Village on March 05, 2026 in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. (Photo by Linnea Rheborg/Getty Images for IPC)

FIGC Commissioner Giovanni Malagò has opened up on the chaotic summer that ended with Roberto Mancini returning as Italy coach, revealing details of talks with Pep Guardiola and the collapse of Andrea Pirlo’s appointment.

With quotes via La Gazzetta dello Sport, Malagò spoke to La Repubblica about the saga that saw Paolo Maldini and Leonardo resign after just 16 days in charge of the Italy setup.

“There’s no doubt I wanted Roberto from the start, and I’ll confirm that here too,” he said. “I think I understand football, but the signal I wanted to send was to leave responsibility for the national team to others and focus on organisation, resources, sponsors, diplomatic channels and institutional matters.”

Malagò on Italy and the situation with Guardiola, Pirlo and Maldini

Malagò chose Maldini to lead the project, hoping he would reach the same conclusion on the coach, and agreed to let Leonardo share the role.

The pair then spent an evening with Guardiola. “I never spoke to Guardiola myself, but Maldini and Leonardo were with him all evening. Pep was honest. He’s taken a sabbatical, partly for family reasons, but if he had done something, he would have done it with us.”

Maldini then wanted a member of Italy’s 2006 World Cup-winning generation and turned to Pirlo, until his role as an ambassador for a Russian betting company emerged.

“Neither he nor I knew about Pirlo’s contract. At that point I said: ‘Let’s stop here.’ Was I devastated? Not at all,” Malagò explained. “Up to then I had been loyal to Maldini, even though I hoped he’d come round to my choice. At a certain point you can only say thank you and goodbye. I’m a fatalist.”

The two have barely spoken since. “I spoke to Maldini a few days after we split, but not since. I’ll go and see him in Milan after the vote, if he wants.”