Andrea Pirlo on the Brink of Coaching Italy National Team

Andrea Pirlo is edging towards the biggest job of his career. The coach of UAE side United is now, by all accounts, on the brink of taking charge of the Italian national team.

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the axis of Paolo Maldini and Leonardo has swung decisively in his favour after Pep Guardiola turned down the chance to lead the Azzurri. Once Guardiola said no, they went straight to Pirlo.

This is not just about a name. Inside the Italian federation there is a clear line of thought: the next coach must be younger, steeped in modern football, willing to listen, to share ideas, to build. That vision has pushed Pirlo ahead of heavyweight rivals such as Antonio Conte and Roberto Mancini.

It is a bold choice. And a risky one.

Pirlo’s critics have circled the same point for years: does he have the force of personality to command a turbulent dressing room? The Italy job is not just tactics and training sessions. It is politics, egos, veterans, rising stars – and a locker room that has never been easy.

Power Structure

Here is where the power structure shifts. Maldini and Leonardo are expected to carry the weight on that front. Giovanni Malagò, president of the Italian Olympic Committee, has effectively handed them a major slice of control over the national team’s future, and they are ready to enforce their authority on anyone who might test Pirlo’s limits. The idea is clear: Pirlo coaches, they protect and impose the framework around him.

Talks with Pirlo have already reached an advanced stage, according to the same reports. He is described as eager – even desperate – to throw himself into what is being framed as a revolutionary project, ready to begin the moment he is formally chosen.

Timing

The timing is tight. Everyone at the Italian Football Federation is bracing for a heavy working weekend. The federal council convenes on Tuesday. Officially, the council only has a consultative role in the appointment of the national coach, as the statute makes clear. Unofficially, that meeting looks like the perfect stage for an announcement that would send a clear signal about where Italian football wants to go.

Contract and Future

The contract on the table is expected to run until the 2030 World Cup. Maldini, though, is thinking beyond one tournament cycle. His blueprint stretches much deeper: a structural rebuild starting from the age groups between 12 and 13, a long, patient process that could take eight to ten years to bear full fruit. The goal is not just to fix the senior side, but to rewire the system that feeds it.

Money will not decide this story. Estimates suggest Mancini would have accepted around two million euros per year to return. Pirlo’s salary is not expected to exceed 1.5 million euros per season – a lower figure for a coach seen as an investment in ideas, not just reputation.

So Italy stands at a crossroads. Hand the keys of the national team, and the future of an entire footballing culture, to Andrea Pirlo – and commit to living with everything that choice entails.