Italy's Pursuit of Pep Guardiola: A Rulebook Rewrite

Italy’s football powerbrokers are quietly preparing to tear up their own rulebook to lure Pep Guardiola into the Azzurri dugout.

FIGC president Giovanni Malagò has confirmed that “financial exceptions” have been created to make a deal for the former Manchester City manager possible, underlining just how far the federation is willing to go to land the most coveted coach on the market.

Guardiola walked away from City at the end of last season after a decade that reshaped English football: six Premier League titles, three FA Cups, five League Cups and the Champions League. With earlier triumphs at Barcelona and Bayern Munich already on his CV, he is free and available – and Italy, a four-time world champion now drifting badly, is knocking hard.

Reports this week revealed that Guardiola has already held talks with the FIGC about the vacancy. The job has been open since April, when Gennaro Gattuso resigned after Italy failed to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup, a staggering collapse for a nation that once measured itself only in trophies.

That context explains the urgency, and the scale, of the gamble.

Malagò, speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport, did not hide the extraordinary nature of the move. He admitted that special financial measures have been put in place specifically to accommodate a name of Guardiola’s stature, even if he stopped short of declaring the deal close.

“Exceptions for obvious reasons that I am not here to explain,” he said, before stressing that “it is not certain that this thing will go through.” The door is open. It is not yet crossed.

Guardiola is not the only name in the frame, but he is clearly the one tilting the room.

Roberto Mancini, the coach who led Italy to their last great high with Euro 2020 glory at Wembley, is also under consideration. So is Andrea Pirlo, the former Azzurri midfield maestro now building his coaching résumé and forever associated with Italian elegance on the ball.

Asked directly if Guardiola, Mancini and Pirlo formed the entire shortlist, Malagò was blunt: “Absolutely not. We think about a certain profile and certainly these names fall into that category.” In other words, the FIGC has drawn up a template – elite pedigree, strong identity, international credibility – and is casting the net within that bracket.

Yet one name dominates the conversation. Guardiola represents not just a coach, but a statement: a tactical revolutionary charged with rescuing a fallen giant.

Italy’s federation has already signalled how far it is prepared to go. The next move belongs to Guardiola.