Italy's Call for Maldini as Conte Plans for World Cup Success

Italian football wants a captain again. Not on the pitch this time, but in the control room. The push is on to bring Paolo Maldini back into the heart of the national project, with a role that would give him sweeping authority over the technical area and youth development.

It is a move that speaks of urgency and regret. Italy watch this World Cup from the outside, counting missed chances and lost time, while others seize the stage.

Maldini, full powers and a new axis with Conte

The idea is clear: hand Maldini the keys to the sporting structure and build a long-term axis with Antonio Conte. For the coach, a four-year proposal is on the table, a contract designed to take Italy all the way to the next World Cup cycle.

Maldini would not be a figurehead. The plan places him at the top of the technical pyramid, overseeing the senior side and the youth sectors, shaping a single line of work from the Under teams to the Azzurri. The message is strong: no more fragmented projects, no more short-term fixes.

Conte, with his intensity and demand for control, would find in Maldini a powerful ally. A coach obsessed with detail and a director who knows what it means to live with pressure at the very top. It is a partnership built on strong personalities, but also on a shared sense of unfinished business with the national shirt.

World Cup regrets as others take the stage

While Italy wait and plan, the World Cup moves on without them. Every result seems to underline what has been lost.

Brazil, driven by Vinicius Junior, have shifted up a gear. Carlo Ancelotti’s star winger struck twice as Brazil overwhelmed Scotland, a performance that underlined their status: first in their group, in control, and brimming with individual talent. Cunha added the third, Neymar came on to add stardust, and Brazil looked every inch a contender.

Morocco did their part against Haiti, taking the win, but the table is unforgiving. Despite the victory, they sit second. Switzerland, instead, delivered the blow that Italy know all too well: ruthless consistency. They finished ahead of Canada, who still managed to qualify with four points and a sense of momentum that Italy can only watch from afar.

“What we missed out on” is not just a headline. It is a mood. The tournament has become a mirror for Italian football’s failures: a World Cup rich in stories, with Italy absent from every one of them.

Klopp’s verdict: too many games, but a spectacle

Jürgen Klopp, watching this congested, relentless calendar, has his own take. He points to the obvious – there are too many matches – yet he cannot deny the spectacle. The World Cup has thrown up surprises, with Norway and Japan standing out as unexpected forces, upsetting hierarchies and proving that organisation and belief can still rattle the giants.

Those are the kinds of stories Italy used to write. Now they are reduced to observers, debating structures and directors while others chase history.

A turning point or another missed chance?

The push for Maldini and the long-term courtship of Conte come at a crossroads moment. Italy need more than a cosmetic change. They need a clear line of command, a vision that connects Coverciano’s classrooms to the biggest nights on the world stage.

Handing full technical and youth powers to a figure like Maldini, while tying Conte down until the next World Cup, would be a bold move. It would not erase the regrets of this tournament. It would not change the fact that Vinicius is dazzling for Brazil and Switzerland are marching on while the Azzurri stay at home.

But it would answer a simple, pressing question: who is leading Italian football out of this darkness?

A captain is required. Now Italy must decide if Maldini and Conte are the ones to steer the ship, before another World Cup sails by without them.