Andrea Pirlo is set to become the new head coach of the Italy national team after accepting a verbal proposal from the Italian football federation, with the former Juventus midfielder agreeing to lead Paolo Maldini and Leonardo’s long-term rebuilding project.
Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano reported that Pirlo has given his approval to the proposal and is expected to sign his contract in the coming days once the remaining formalities are completed. The agreement is understood to be for four years, potentially taking Pirlo through to the 2030 FIFA World Cup.
The appointment is yet to be formally announced by the Italian football federation, meaning Pirlo cannot officially be described as Italy coach until the contractual and administrative steps have been completed. Pirlo is expected to succeed former Italy teammate Gennaro Gattuso, who left the position in April following the Azzurri’s failure to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. Italy consequently missed a third successive World Cup, having also failed to quality for the tournaments in 2018 and 2022.
Pirlo becomes Maldini-Leonardo choice after Guardiola pursuit
Pirlo’s appointment would mark one of the first major decisions of the new technical structure headed by Maldini and Leonardo, who have been tasked with overseeing a broader reconstruction of Italian football. Their search initially extended to two of the biggest coaching names in the game.
Carlo Ancelotti was approached regarding the position but decided to continue with Brazil, while former Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola also rejected Italy’s advances. Guardiola’s decision was based on personal considerations rather than the financial terms of the offer, with the Spaniard intending to spend time with his family before returning to coaching.
Pirlo then emerged as the clear favourite. Before the agreement, the federation had approached him over a four-year spell, before confirming later on Thursday that the 2006 World Cup winner had accepted the project.
The appointment represents a significant gamble for Italy given Pirlo’s relatively limited managerial experience, but it also fits the longer-term footballing philosophy Maldini and Leonardo are attempting to establish. Pirlo began his senior managerial career with Juventus in 2020, winning the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana during his only season in charge. He subsequently coached Fatih Karagümrük in Turkey and Sampdoria before moving to United FC in Dubai.
His reputation received a boost during the most recent campaign after guiding United FC to promotion to the UAE Pro League, strengthening his case at a time when Italy were searching for a coach willing to commit to a wider development project rather than simply oversee the senior team. Pirlo also brings an enormous international pedigree as a player. The midfielder won 116 caps for Italy and was one of the central figures in their 2006 World Cup triumph, scoring in the semi-final penalty shootout victory over Germany and starting the final against France. His return comes at perhaps the lowest point for the Italian national team in the modern era.
The four-time world champions have now failed to reach three consecutive World Cups, and the latest disappointment prompted another major overhaul of the national-team structure. Pirlo had himself been brutally critical of Italy’s decline even before talks over the job intensified, describing their latest World Cup absence as “a real disaster” and arguing that the country needed to properly rebuild towards Euro 2028 and the 2030 World Cup. He now appears set to be given responsibility for carrying out that rebuild himself.
Subject to the remaining formalities, Pirlo’s first competitive assignment will come in the UEFA Nations League in September, when Italy begin their campaign against Belgium before facing Turkey and France. For Maldini and Leonardo, however, the appointment is being presented as something considerably larger than one Nations League campaign. Pirlo has accepted a project designed to take Italy towards 2030, with the immediate challenge of rebuilding a national team that has spent the last three World Cups watching from home.
