Pep Guardiola will not be taking over as head coach of the Italian national soccer team. Despite formal conversations with the Italian Football Federation, Guardiola reportedly declined the position, leaving Italy still searching for a permanent manager.
According to a report by Yahoo Sports, citing The Athletic, FICG technical director Paolo Maldini and federation head Giovanni Malago both confirmed the organization spoke with Guardiola about the role. Those talks reportedly stagnated before Guardiola turned the job down.
Guardiola, 55, left Manchester City in May after a decade with the club. During his time there, he went 416-87-90 and won six Premier League titles. Before Manchester City, he built his reputation at Barcelona and Bayern Munich. He has never coached at the international level.
Italy has been in a difficult stretch. The national team failed to qualify for the past three World Cups, missing the 2018, 2022, and 2026 tournaments entirely. The most recent failure led to the departure of head coach Gennaro Gattuso and FICG president Gabriele Gravina.
The federation has been casting a wide net. Italy also confirmed it spoke with Brazil head coach Carlo Ancelotti about the position. Ancelotti is under contract with Brazil through 2030, which makes his availability unlikely in the near term.
Guardiola remains one of the most pursued coaching figures in world soccer. His next destination has not been announced, and he continues to evaluate his options on his own timeline. Italy, meanwhile, must keep looking.
