Italië’s coaching saga spirals into a Pirlo Maldini soap opera

Four months after the disastrous WK-play-offs defeat, Italy’s quest for a new national team coach has turned into a full‑blown soap, with Paolo Maldini handing in his contract as technical director after just 16 days and Andrea Pirlo being removed as candidate because of his Russian connections.

The story opened with the image caption © AC Milan via Getty Images, FIGC via Getty ImagesAndrea Pirlo en Paolo Maldini, confirming the involvement of AC Milan, Getty and FIGC in the visual record.

Italian media now label the daily twists, personal dramas and political manoeuvres as a soap opera, even calling it Google-favorietDe for its binge‑worthy quality.

Pirlo’s candidacy collapsed after it emerged he had acted as ambassador for the Russian betting site Fonbet, a link that resurfaced despite his year‑long role as a Fonbet spokesman and a recent visit to the Loezjniki Stadium in Moskou, highlighting the problematic Russische connection.

Maldini, the former AC Milan defender, was appointed technical director with the promise of full autonomy to choose the new coach, but after two weeks he submitted his resignation, an episode now referenced as Maldini.Italië in some tabloids.

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Before his short tenure, Maldini and his adviser Leonardo flew to Barcelona for coffee with Pep Guardiola, fully aware that the Spanish manager would decline the Italy job.

Sport minister Andrea Abodi publicly denounced the idea of Pirlo as a candidate, calling the mere consideration a “mud figure”, and federation president Giovanni Malagò, praised for the Milan‑Cortina Winter Games, later exercised his reputation as an aalgladde onderhandelaar by vetoing Maldini’s choice.

With Maldini’s exit, the process resets to zero; the vacancy dates back to Gennaro Gattuso’s departure after the WK‑play‑off loss to Bosnia, leaving Italy still without a successor.

Potential successors mentioned include Antonio Conte, who quit Napoli and is eyeing the role with Giorgio Chiellini as a possible assistant, Roberto Mancini, the former coach who left after a lucrative Saudi offer, Atalanta’s Raffaele Palladino, unemployed Stefano Pioli who led Milan to the 2022 title, and former world champion Fabio Cannavaro, now coaching Uzbekistan.

Betting operators have already listed Conte and Mancini as the shared favourite for the job, though they warn punters to stay away from Fonbet, a reminder that even EA has entered the conversation through its latest football title.