There is already an agreement: Pirlo will be the Italy coach
Now yes. In the absence of an official announcement, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) already has a coach. After the refusals of Carlo Ancelotti, committed to leading Brazil until 2030, and Pep Guardiola, sYour main candidate is finally Andrea Pirlo the chosen one.
According to the newspaper La Repubblica, Guardiola’s ‘no’ has definitively unblocked the situation and the FIGC has already reached a four-year agreement with Pirlo, who will receive around one and a half million euros in each of them, plus bonuses, until the end of the 2030 World Cup.
World champion in 2006
Pirlo, 47, played 116 games and scored 13 goals for the Azurra during his playing days between 2002 and 2015. He participated in Italy’s fourth and last world title, the one achieved in Germany 2006 for penalties against France (1-1 and 5-3), in addition to being runner-up in the Euro 2012 (lost to Spain 4-0) and finished third in the 2013 Confederations Cup.
Except for the Euro Cup won in 2021, Italy has entered a deep crisis, aggravated last March with the defeat on penalties against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the play-off (1-1 and 4-1) that left him out of a World Cup for the third consecutive edition (since 2014 he has not participated in the tournament) and caused the resignation of Gennaro Gattuso
Currently coach of United FC of the Arab EmiratesPirlo now has the great responsibility of returning Italy to the place that belongs to a four-time world champion. Only Brazil surpasses it with five stars.
Great friend of Maldini
The legendary former defender Paolo Maldini, The new technical director of the FIGC, he is Pirlo’s great supporter, with whom he has established a good friendship since they both coincided as players at Milan for eight seasons (from 2001 to 2009).
Together they won a Serie A, a Coppa, two Champions Leagues, two European Super Cups and a Club World Cup. Pirlo was a midfielder with great vision of the game and ball handling and he shares his way of understanding football with Maldini.
Paolo already intended to hire him for Milan as a replacement for Stefano Pioli, but before he left the San Siro bench in 2024, Maldini stopped being the technical director in June 2023.
Now they both meet again. Pirlo takes on a great challenge, also taking into account his limited experience as a coach at the head of Juventus (won Coppa and Supercoppa in its only season, 2020-21), Fatih Karagümrük Turkish, Sampdoria and United FC of the Emirates, from which he will leave to now direct the Italian team from the bench.
