In the shortlist of candidates to lead the Italian national football team "there are also other names", besides those of Roberto Mancini and Andrea Pirlo. This was reiterated by the president of the FIGC, Giovanni Malagò, in an interview with Sky Sport. Malagò repeated that the choice of manager will have to take into account not only the availability of individuals, but also the Federation's 2026 budget. "It took me two weeks to bring Maldini and Leonardo on board. They are two serious people, immediately very interested, but they also immediately wanted to know the details of their role, what I had in mind, who works and would work with them. They even made a visit to Coverciano and took stock of the centre," Malagò said. "Over these two weeks I held six to eight video conferences, where we talked about everything. And the topic we discussed least, I assure you, was the financial and contractual one. This confirms their seriousness. In this context, we explored in every way the concept of total sharing of the various decisions, where the top one is precisely that of the manager, but that is not the only one. There are many other key figures. Regarding the coach, there is no conflict of any kind, but the word 'sharing' starts from the idea that everyone must be in agreement. Assuming that this idea exists, it then needs to be put into practice. We are talking in detail about a candidate who is also shared. Just a few more days of patience and you will know everything."
The World Cup won by Spain was one of great young players — Yamal, Mbappé, Haaland. Is there a way to once again make the development of young Italian talent worthwhile? "This has been my mission," Malagò replied. "And it is what we are pursuing with whoever we believe can be our manager. You may be the best in the world, but you also have to be realistic about the material you have available. We need to raise the level significantly, but do so with targeted policies."
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