JAKARTA - The President of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), Giovanni Malago, has confirmed that Pep Guardiola is among the candidates being considered for the vacant head coach position.
The Azzurri have been without a coach since Gennaro Gattuso resigned after the 2026 World Cup qualifying playoff defeat in April 2026 against Bosnia-Herzegovina which left Italy failing to qualify for the World Cup for the third time in a row.
Malago said the FIGC was willing to make financial sacrifices to bring in Guardiola, who is a free agent after leaving Manchester City earlier this summer.
"It's not a guarantee that (talks with Guardiola) will bear fruit, but I believe it's right and important to open a dialogue and keep it alive."
"This conversation with Guardiola is in no way a lack of respect for other candidates, whose talks have already begun, and adding another name will in no way reduce the existing process."
"There are also financial and budgetary considerations. In the short to medium term, saying that we have to tighten our belts is a statement that is underestimated. However, some exceptions have been made, which may be related to a name that is so dominant today (Guardiola)," said Malago, who was elected President of the FIGC on June 22, 2026, to the podcast Cronache in Spogliatoio.
Malago stressed that Guardiola, former Italy coach Roberto Mancini, and Italian legend Andrea Pirlo were not the only candidates considered.
"No, absolutely not. If we consider a certain profile, these names certainly fall within the scope of the category of that profile," he said.
Guardiola has often expressed his desire to coach the national team at a major tournament before retiring. He has had a glittering coaching career, with spells at Barcelona, Bayern Munchen and Manchester City.
As a manager, he has won 41 major trophies, including three Champions Leagues. However, ESPN reported that Guardiola's talks with the FIGC were brief.
The Spanish coach is rumored to want to take a leave of absence first after coaching Manchester City since 2016.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
