The project has ended.
Paolo Maldini and Leonardo are out. The pair have resigned from the Italian Football Federation’s new project and the Azzurri after the names they put forward for the head coach role were rejected.
According to “Sky Sport Italia”, Maldini, the federation’s technical director, and his adviser Leonardo handed their resignations to federation president Giovanni Malago this afternoon. The trigger was the outright rejection of Andrea Pirlo’s nomination, blocked by political fallout over the sponsorship deal signed with Russian betting company Fonbet.
Malago had appointed the duo just 16 days earlier, naming Maldini technical director and Leonardo his adviser, with Maldini also handed the leadership of the “Club Italia” project.
Sixteen days on, and after a meeting with Serie A clubs at the league headquarters that same day confirmed contacts with Ancelotti and Guardiola, both of whom rejected the offer, Maldini and Leonardo decided to walk away.
Guardiola’s direct refusal sent Maldini to Andrea Pirlo, his former team-mate and friend who shared his vision for the technical project built around the national teams.
Then the Russian sponsor crisis killed off the Pirlo option. Maldini began to weigh up resignation, feeling neither supported nor protected by the federation president.
Hours of talks followed, with alternatives on the table. Leonardo pushed Thiago Motta, having worked with him at Inter and Paris Saint-Germain. In the end, the pair made up their minds and told Malago they were leaving.
Now the search reopens. Malago is running it personally, and he has put forward the name of Roberto Mancini, who had always been his first choice.
