Pep Guardiola’s rumors of Italy manager could come true, with reports that newly appointed Italian football technical director Paolo Maldini and Leonardo have approached the 55-year-old Spaniard as Gennaro Gattuso’s replacement.
After the 2025/26 Premier League season, Guardiola resigned as Manchester City coach. He failed to win the league last season but still won two trophies with the City Citizens.
Guardiola has won as many as 20 trophies with Manchester City in the past decade, including six Premier League titles, a UEFA Champions League title and three FA Cup titles. He has yet to coach the national team, but Guardiola’s links with Italy may be a clash of ideas.
Pep Guardiola, Italy coach: How appropriate is this appointment?
Traditionally, Italy has relied more on its defenders to succeed at international level. The Italians have produced legendary defenders over the years, but Guardiola’s coaching style has been influenced by Barcelona’s possession-based football, which is the opposite of what Italian football has stood for for decades.
So the possibility of Guardiola’s Italy rumors coming true doesn’t seem like a good idea. However, the Spaniard has spent a total of two seasons in Serie A with Roma and Brescia during his career.
Italian football has continued to evolve over the past decade or so, despite failing to qualify for three consecutive World Cups.
When Italy won Euro 2021, they adopted a 4-3-3 formation under Roberto Mancini, which incidentally is also the formation Guardiola used at Barcelona. It is worth mentioning that Mancini is also the former Manchester City coach and won the Premier League championship with Manchester City.
Guardiola mainly uses a 4-2-3-1 formation at Manchester City, which is just a slight variation of the 4-3-3 formation. Therefore, if he agrees to take the job, he may not be completely unsuitable to coach Italy.
Beyond that, Italy has players like Nicolo Barella and Moise Kean who should enjoy playing under the Spaniard. Barella is a midfielder who likes to have the ball at his feet and is very mobile, while Keane is a prolific goalscorer in international football.
Italy also has an exciting winger like Matteo Politano, but his performances for the national team have been somewhat lackluster. It remains to be seen whether Guardiola will stick with players like him, or if Pep Guardiola’s change in Italy coaching will happen and he decides to go with new players.
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Donnarumma and Bastoni are two relatively young but experienced players in the Italian team that Guardiola can rely on. The challenge for the Spaniards, however, will be to get the Italian defenders to engage in a passing game and not immediately steal the ball, which is what they are used to doing.
The good news for Guardiola is that Italy’s defense has a new look after the retirements of legends such as Bonucci and Chiellini, and as a result, their style of play may change.
The hiring of foreign head coaches by national teams has been a trend among major countries in recent years. There is no better manager in football today than Guardiola, and it remains to be seen whether Guardiola, a potential Gattuso replacement, can turn the tide of Italian football.
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