New details revealed: How close Italy came to the bombshell move for Pep Guardiola | Goal.com
Paolo Maldini, the now retired former technical director of the Squadra Azzurra, revealed in an interview with the Corriere della Sera that Guardiola came close to giving the federation the green light.
"We travelled to Barcelona to meet him, had lunch together and spoke for an entire day. He was very tempted by it. He was very close to saying yes. He had even started writing line-ups on bits of paper," Maldini said of a meeting between the Italian delegation and the Spanish star coach.
Guardiola did not turn down the four-time world champions over money, despite reports from some media outlets during the talks. "The money, the 20 million euros that were mentioned, was never an issue. Pep told us quite clearly: Give me one euro less than the last national coach received and that works for me," Maldini said.
After ten draining years on the touchline at Manchester City, though, the 55-year-old did not feel ready to take charge of another club or national team. Guardiola "said no out of exhaustion", Maldini explained: "He comes from ten gruelling years in the Premier League. He has had back surgery. He wants to rest."
Maldini said the Spaniard threw himself into the idea of leading Italian football back to the top after difficult years and three missed World Cups in a row. "It was a very serious conversation, we studied the squads from the Under-17s upwards," Maldini revealed.
Only after Guardiola's final rejection did Andrea Pirlo come into the frame. The 2006 World Cup winner was ultimately Maldini's preferred candidate, but the federation vetoed the move because of connections to the Russian betting provider Fonbet. In protest, Maldini stepped down from his role again after just 16 days.
Before taking the role at the FIGC, Maldini had secured an assurance from newly elected federation president Giovanni Malago that he alone would decide on the new head coach. That autonomy had been the key condition for the former professional to accept the job in the first place.
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