Pep Guardiola in Talks to Become Italy's Next Head Coach

Pep Guardiola has held talks about becoming Italy’s next head coach, Italian Football Federation president Giovanni Malagò has confirmed – a potential appointment that would redraw the map of international football.

Italy turn to a serial winner

Guardiola walked away from Manchester City this summer after a decade of relentless success in England: six Premier League titles, three FA Cups, five League Cups and the club’s first Champions League. Ten years, 15 major trophies, and a style of football that reshaped a league.

Now, just weeks after saying he was “so tired” at the end of that marathon spell, his name sits at the top of Italy’s wish list.

The Azzurri have been drifting. Gennaro Gattuso resigned in April after Italy failed to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup, a staggering fall for four-time world champions. The vacancy is more than a job; it is an emergency.

Sky Italia first revealed on Monday that the FIGC had made contact with the 55-year-old Spaniard. Malagò has now gone a step further, publicly acknowledging those talks and hinting at how far Italy might go to get their man.

“Exceptions” for Guardiola

Speaking to Italian digital outlet Cronache di spogliatoio, Malagò admitted that the federation is prepared to bend its own financial framework for Guardiola.

“[Financial] Exceptions have been made, exceptions that for example may concern the name that is so overbearing in these hours: Pep Guardiola,” he said. “Exceptions for obvious reasons that I am not here to explain, but it is not certain that this thing will go through.”

The message is clear: Italy know Guardiola does not come cheap, and they are ready to stretch. But there are no guarantees. BBC Sport has contacted the FIGC for further comment, with negotiations still finely poised.

A rare foreign bet

If Guardiola takes the job, he would step into a role that has almost always belonged to Italians. Across more than a century, only two foreign coaches have been involved in managing the men’s national team.

Hungarian Lajos Czeizler formed part of a technical committee in the 1950s. In the 1960s, legendary Argentine Helenio Herrera briefly shared the reins with Ferruccio Valcareggi. That is the extent of Italy’s experiments with outsiders.

Guardiola, though, is no stranger to the country. He speaks fluent Italian and spent two seasons in Serie A between 2001 and 2003, enjoying two spells at Brescia and a stint at Roma. He never coached there, but he understands the culture, the pressure, the obsession.

Mancini, Pirlo and a wider field

Italy are not short of high-profile alternatives. Another former Manchester City manager, Roberto Mancini, is firmly in the frame. He delivered Euro 2020 glory just five years ago, restoring pride and identity before his own controversial exit from the national team job.

Andrea Pirlo, currently in charge of Dubai United, is also under consideration. His name carries enormous weight in Italian football, even if his coaching career is still taking shape.

Asked whether Guardiola, Mancini and Pirlo were the only candidates, Malagò was unequivocal: “Absolutely not. We think about a certain profile and certainly these names fall into that category.” The search, then, is broad – but the headline act is obvious.

From exhaustion to another Everest?

When Guardiola left City in May, he spoke openly about the toll of his career to date.

“I am so tired. Seriously, I am so tired,” he admitted, reflecting on an era that followed trophy-laden spells at Barcelona and Bayern Munich. “The memories I have of Barcelona and Bayern Munich are unbeatable but the luggage of memories I have from here from 10 years is more than any other.”

Those words painted the picture of a man ready to step back, at least temporarily. Yet the Italy job offers something different: a shorter calendar, a new challenge, the chance to leave a mark on the international game as deep as the one he carved into club football.

For a nation that has lost its way on the biggest stage, and for a coach who has conquered almost everything at club level, the fit is tantalising.

Now the question hangs over Coverciano and the corridors of the FIGC: will Italy truly break with tradition and hand their future to Pep Guardiola, or will this bold flirtation remain just that?