Italy’s national team coaching search has taken another strange turn. Andrea Pirlo, who was the federation’s next choice after Carlo Ancelotti and Pep Guardiola both said no, now looks unlikely to get the job. The reason? His role as a global brand ambassador for a Russian betting company.
The backlash in Italy has been immediate and loud. There’s even talk of legal action if Pirlo were formally offered the position. So technical director Paolo Maldini and advisor Leonardo are back to square one, flipping through a shortlist that suddenly feels a lot thinner than it did a month ago.
That means we’re now looking at what’s essentially Plan D. And Plan D might involve a familiar face — or two.
Conte or Mancini: The Return of the Former Bosses
Antonio Conte and Roberto Mancini have both been here before. Mancini led Italy to the Euro 2020 title. Conte took them to the quarterfinals of Euro 2016 before leaving. Neither is probably thrilled about being considered an option only after Pirlo was in the conversation. But this is where we are.
Mancini is reportedly more eager to return and would come cheaper. Conte’s name carries weight but he’s also a more expensive, more complicated figure. Both are currently free agents. Neither has publicly commented on the situation, but according to reports out of Italy, the federation has made contact with both camps.
The awkward part is obvious. You’re asking two former managers who already delivered for the country to step in after a guy whose main qualification was a different kind of name recognition got cold-shouldered by public opinion. That’s not nothing.
Pioli and Palladino: The Other Names in the Mix
Stefano Pioli worked closely with Maldini at Milan where they won a Scudetto together. That connection alone keeps him in the conversation. But his stock took a hit after he was fired by Fiorentina just a few weeks into last season. That’s a short memory problem for a national team job where you need everyone on board from day one.
Raffaele Palladino is the wild card. He’s 42, plays the kind of possession-based soccer that fans want to see, and he’s a protégé of Gian Piero Gasperini. His recent work at Atalanta was genuinely impressive. He took over in November 2025 with the team in danger and dragged them to a sixth-place finish in Serie A. That’s not nothing. But he couldn’t agree on a long-term strategy with the club, so he left by mutual consent this summer.
Palladino fits the Pirlo mold in terms of being a younger, tactically ambitious coach. The difference is he doesn’t come with the gambling controversy baggage. That alone might make him the safer bet right now.
For a federation that already had its first two choices turn them down and its third choice trigger a public outcry, safe might be exactly what they need.
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