Paolo Maldini revealed that Pep Guardiola was very close to becoming the head coach of the Italian national team, after Azzurri sought a new direction in the rebuilding process.
Maldini was tasked with finding a new coach for the Italian national team after the defeat in the World Cup qualifiers. Carlo Ancelotti was one of the top choices, but after failing to convince the Italian strategist, Maldini turned his attention to Guardiola, who was then preparing to leave Manchester City.
According to Maldini, Guardiola is really serious about his ability to lead the national team. The two sides had a meeting in Barcelona to discuss Azzurri's future plans. Even the preparation process has gone so far that Maldini and Guardiola are studying a list of players from the U17 team and above.
We and Guardiola have studied the list of players, starting from the U17 team upwards" - Maldini shared, while revealing that he has even started sketching the expected squad for the Italian national team.
This shows that Guardiola was very close to the position of Azzurri head coach. However, the final deal did not materialize because the Spanish strategist wanted to have time to rest after many years of continuous work at the club level.
Guardiola also does not put money first. According to Maldini, the 55-year-old coach even made a special offer: "Pay me less than one Euro compared to the previous coach's salary and I am ready.
After Guardiola and Ancelotti successively refused, Maldini switched direction to Andrea Pirlo. This former midfielder was once one of the important factors helping Azzurri win the 2006 World Cup and after retiring, he spent time leading Juventus.
Pirlo almost became Maldini's next choice, but the plan unexpectedly collapsed when some Italian football leaders opposed the appointment due to his connections with Russian betting companies.
Unable to bring Pirlo to power, Maldini decided to resign less than three weeks after being appointed. Italy then continued to look for another option and finally gave the opportunity to Roberto Mancini.
The fact that Guardiola was once close to the hot seat of the Italian national team further shows his appeal to national teams. Previously, the Spanish strategist was also linked with the England national team after Gareth Southgate resigned.
Guardiola was considered a potential candidate to succeed Southgate, but in the end Thomas Tuchel was chosen. Guardiola himself then decided to continue to stick with Man City and extend his contract in the middle of the 2024-2025 season.
After 13 consecutive years working at club level with Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Man City, Guardiola is currently facing the possibility of having a period of rest. However, Maldini's revelations show that he has seriously considered trying his hand at the national team level.
