Italy must prioritise the appointment of a new technical director over a head coach, amid reports that Paolo Maldini has resigned after just 15 days in the role.
That is the view of Giancarlo Abete, who served as president of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) between 2007 and 2014 and was beaten by Giovanni Malago in last month’s election for the same position.
Maldini was appointed as Italy’s technical director on July 12, with former Brazil international Leonardo serving as his advisor, amid talk of a large-scale reset for the Azzurri.
In March, Italy became the first former World Cup winners to miss three straight editions of football’s most prestigious tournament, after losing on penalties to Bosnia-Herzegovina in a qualification play-off.
Maldini was keen to attract Pep Guardiola to the Italy job and also revealed talks had been held with Carlo Ancelotti, only for both coaches to turn the role down.
The former AC Milan defender then reportedly moved onto his next option, his ex-team-mate Andrea Pirlo, who removed himself from consideration on Monday.
Many public figures in Italy came out in opposition to Pirlo’s candidacy due to his role as a brand ambassador for a Russian betting company, and after his appointment fell through, widespread reports said Maldini and Leonardo had resigned from their positions on Monday.
Speaking to reporters after those reports emerged, Abete questioned the alignment between Maldini and Malago, while highlighting the need for a technical director to oversee the appointment of a head coach.
“We are all grown-ups, so we must try to resume the project of trying to identify a technical director,” Abete said.
“If that is Malago’s project – and he pointed out many times that the sporting aspect would be left to Maldini – then logically, the first issue must be choosing a technical director.
“That is something the president will decide. If he chooses the coach first, then that is contradictory to the project he presented.
“Maybe there was a misunderstanding about the kind of rapport that they [Malago and Maldini] were supposed to have.
“Now if we go back to the old way of doing things and the president chooses the coach first, then a technical director… nothing has changed.”
Reports now suggest Roberto Mancini is the favourite to return as Azzurri head coach, having overseen their success over England in the Euro 2020 final.
Mancini was also in charge for Italy’s failure to qualify for the 2022 World Cup, before controversially resigning to take the Saudi Arabia job in August 2023.
Italy are next in action against Belgium on September 25, with Turkiye and France their other opponents during an extended Nations League break.
