Italy’s next coaching decision is no longer just about replacing a manager. It is about whether the Italian Football Federation wants a short-term fix or a figure who fits a longer rebuild, and that is why Andrea Pirlo has moved so quickly into the frame. The former midfielder has emerged as a strong candidate to become the next manager of the Italy national team, while the timing of the call suggests the process is moving toward a clear conclusion by the end of the weekend.
That urgency is not hard to understand. Italy are still living with the weight of three consecutive World Cup qualification failures, after missing out in 2018, 2022 and 2026. Roberto Mancini did at least provide one major success in that stretch, leading the team to the European Championship in 2021, but the broader picture remains one of a national team that has not found a stable competitive identity on the biggest stage.
Why Pirlo is in the conversation
Pirlo’s appeal is easy to trace. He is a respected name inside Italian football, and he shares two Champions League triumphs at AC Milan with Paolo Maldini, another figure now involved in the decision-making structure alongside Leonardo and Giovanni Malago. That matters because the process is being handled through a more collaborative model than before, with Malago saying that from tomorrow, or at the latest the day after tomorrow, the profiles in the field will be identified in order to find a synthesis with Maldini and Leonardo.
Malago also made clear that the possibility of a high-profile choice is being treated as more than a symbolic move. His point was that a former Manchester City manager-type appointment would be a significant event, but only if the fit makes sense. In other words, reputation alone will not decide this. Compatibility will.
That is where Pirlo’s recent work in Dubai with United FC becomes relevant. He has just won promotion, which gives him a fresh managerial reference point at a moment when Italy are searching for a coach who can bring structure, calm and a believable path back to the World Cup. With the 2030 World Cup now part of the horizon, the next appointment has to be about more than nostalgia.
The bigger issue for Italy
The key question is not simply whether Pirlo can get the job. It is whether Italy have reached the point where they need a manager who can reconnect the national team with its own identity while also surviving the pressure of immediate results. That tension has defined their recent cycle. The talent has not disappeared, but the performance level has not matched the history or the expectations.
By the end of the weekend, Italy should know which direction they are taking. If Pirlo is the choice, it will signal a willingness to trust a familiar football brain at a difficult moment. If it is someone else, the logic will likely be just as revealing. Either way, the next coach will inherit a team that must stop treating World Cup qualification as a crisis and start treating it as the minimum requirement.
That is why this decision matters so much. Italy are not just hiring a manager. They are choosing the face of their rebuild.
