Considered one of the best coaches of all time, the Catalan officially ended a 10-year stint with Manchester City this spring, during which he won the English Premier League six times and the UEFA Champions League once.
According to ESPN, the 55-year-old specialist received a call from the heads of Italian football, but it lasted only a minute because P. Guardiola clearly stated his intentions to rest from football for at least one year.
Interestingly, according to ESPN, at least three other unnamed national team representatives have contacted P. Guardiola in recent weeks.
It is believed that among the teams reaching out to the strategist could be the Netherlands national team, which was eliminated in the round of 16 at the World Cup. Earlier, England also considered the option of P. Guardiola, but the team that finished third in the world championship is not currently planning to part ways with German Thomas Tuchel.
The Catalan’s response to all who contacted him was the same, although some national teams would agree to wait a year just to sign a contract with one of the most sought-after coaches on the free agent market.
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The Italian national team was left without a coach this spring when Gennaro Gattuso resigned after a loss to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the decisive World Cup qualifying match.
The four-time (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006) world champions missed the 2018, 2022, and 2026 World Cups. However, they were still European champions just five years ago, in 2021.
In June, a new FIGC president was elected, Giovanni Malago, and the country’s football legend Paolo Maldini was appointed as the technical director of the national team. The search for a new coach is being conducted by Leonardo, a former Brazil national team player who has worked as a coach and sporting director after his playing career.
Besides P. Guardiola, candidates to take over Italy include Andrea Pirlo, Antonio Conte, and Roberto Mancini. It was Mancini who led Italy to the world championship crown in 2021 but resigned after his team failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup.
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