“This is a four-year commitment that must take us from here to the next World Cup in 2030, with a European Championship along the way,” Malago said when he announced Maldini and Leonardo’s appointments.
But that commitment lasted little more than a fortnight as the relationship turned fraught over a series of failed appointments.
First Maldini and Leonardo approached former Manchester City manager Guardiola, promising him a big salary and freedom to mould the role and the workings of Italian football to his liking. After mulling the offer over, Guardiola declined, opting to continue with planned time away from football instead.
Four-time Champions League winner Ancelotti oversaw Brazil’s disappointing last-16 exit at the World Cup but has been kept in his role by the Brazilian FA. Reports in Italy claim he quickly batted away Maldini and Leonardo’s interest.
The pair then aimed to make Pirlo manager, but he was ruled out by the FIGC hierarchy amid outcry from the Italian public and politicians over his role promoting a Russian betting company, including making sponsored visits to Moscow following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The refusal to hire Pirlo, who expressed “great bitterness” over the scandal, appears to have been the final straw for Maldini and Leonardo.
Whether Pirlo – a former team-mate of Maldini and Leonardo at AC Milan – would even have been a good choice is debatable.
Though his style and facial hair may be notoriously suave, his managerial record is distinctly mediocre – he was sacked after a season in charge of Juventus, left mid-table Turkish side Fatih Karagumruk after 12 months, was sacked again following a year in charge of Serie B side Sampdoria, and spent last season in the dugout of UAE club Dubai United.
But with Pirlo off the table, and Maldini and Leonardo’s entire approach undermined, it became the responsibility of Malago to fill the vacancy.
The FIGC’s immediate favourite for the role was Mancini, who won Euro 2020 in his previous spell as manager, but was also in charge when Italy were eliminated from qualifying for the 2022 World Cup by North Macedonia. He then abruptly walked out on the job in order to take a handsomely paid role managing Saudi Arabia instead.
Mancini is now back – the search – finally over – and the former Chelsea and Leicester City boss Claudio Ranieri, aged 74, has agreed to replace Maldini as technical director.
But it will be difficult for Malago to sell those appointments as the true rebirth he promised.
