Paolo Maldini has revealed new details about his departure from the Italian Football Federation, and the ambitious project he tried to launch during his brief spell as sporting director, confirming that Pep Guardiola was very close to taking charge of the Azzurri.
Speaking to the Italian newspaper "Corriere della Sera", Maldini explained that one of his most prominent goals was to find a coach capable of leading a deep transformation in Italian football. The choice was Pep Guardiola.
Contact with the Manchester City manager went far beyond an initial approach. "With Guardiola we studied the lists of players, starting from the under-17 team and above," Maldini said, revealing that the coach "even began writing out line-ups".
The negotiations between the two sides reached the point of discussing financial aspects too. Guardiola, Maldini confirmed, showed great willingness to take on the task: "Guardiola told us: give me one euro less than what the last coach was earning and I am ready."
Money was never the issue. Maldini stressed that Guardiola "did not refuse because of money", pointing instead to the fatigue that had built up after years of work in England, on top of back surgery. "He was exhausted after ten gruelling years in the Premier League," he said.
Maldini's project went beyond simply choosing a new coach for the national team. He wanted to push Italian football towards a genuine rebuilding process, but disagreements with the federation president, Malagò, ultimately made carrying out the project impossible.
Convinced he could no longer do the job with the independence he had been promised, Maldini walked. "We submitted our resignation because the necessary conditions of trust no longer existed," he said.
The former Italy defender defended his stance throughout the dispute. "If defending my job and taking on my responsibilities means I am hardline, then I am hardline," he said.
Once Guardiola was ruled out, Maldini turned to the coach he saw as best suited to take charge of the Azzurri: Andrea Pirlo.
The former midfielder, in Maldini's eyes, possessed every attribute needed to become the new Italy coach, despite the doubts surrounding his experience on the bench.
Maldini brushed aside the argument about Pirlo's lack of coaching experience by pointing to the last two men to win the World Cup. "What coaching record did the last two coaches to win the World Cup have, Scaloni and De la Fuente?" he said.
Technically, he considered Pirlo more than up to the challenge, describing him as "extremely ready".
Nor did the controversy over Pirlo's connection to a betting company convince Maldini, who saw it as a device to block his candidacy. "It was a pretext," he said.
By his account, "there was no legal obstacle whatsoever", and Pirlo was ready to end his association with the company to remove any doubts. "He was ready to cut his ties with the Russian company," Maldini added.
Malagò, in the end, ruled out the Pirlo option, a decision that also excluded other names on the table, such as De Rossi and Grosso.
Thiago Motta, meanwhile, was never in the running at all. "He was never among our options," Maldini confirmed.
