Italy tried to lure Carlo Ancelotti away from Brazil before turning their attention to Pep Guardiola, the man tasked with rebuilding the national team has confirmed.

FIGC technical director Paolo Maldini — once Ancelotti's team-mate for both Italy and AC Milan — admitted the approach at a news conference on Thursday. "We cannot hide the fact that we also spoke to Carlo before talking to Pep," Maldini said BBC Sport.

The revelation lifts the lid on Italy's frantic search for a new manager after a turbulent year. Gennaro Gattuso left the head-coach role in April by mutual consent following Italy's failure to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup AP News. FIGC president Gabriele Gravina and delegation chief Gianluigi Buffon both resigned in the political fallout AP News. Giovanni Malagò then won the FIGC presidential election on 22 June, inheriting a federation under pressure to get the next appointment right.

Ancelotti, for his part, was never likely to switch. The 67-year-old took charge of Brazil in 2025 and extended his contract in May through to the 2030 World Cup. Brazil suffered a last-16 elimination at the hands of Norway at this summer's tournament, but the Brazilian Football Confederation confirmed he will stay on BBC Sport.

With Ancelotti unavailable, Italy's attention shifted to Guardiola, who left Manchester City this summer after a decade in charge. FIGC president Malagò had already said publicly that talks had been held with the Catalan and that "exceptions" could be made for his salary BBC Sport. Maldini and Leonardo Araújo were dispatched on what Italian news agency ANSA described as a mission to speak with Guardiola ANSA. Malagò had told reporters by mid-July that the federation had drawn up a short list including both Guardiola and Ancelotti ANSA.

What makes the hunt striking is the calibre of names Italy were willing to chase. Ancelotti has won the Champions League as a manager more times than anyone. Guardiola transformed English football at City. For a federation reeling from three straight World Cup misses, reaching for that tier of coach was an admission that incremental fixes would no longer do.

Whether Guardiola was ever a realistic target remains unclear. What is confirmed is that Italy ultimately went in a different direction: Antonio Conte was named the new head coach, with FIGC publishing official appointment notices dated 19 and 22 June 2026 FIGC.

For Italian fans, the takeaway is twofold. The federation aimed high — high enough to test the resolve of a manager under contract with Brazil and to open the chequebook for one of the game's most celebrated coaches. That they ended up with Conte, a man who has won Serie A at Juventus and Inter Milan and managed Chelsea in the Premier League, is hardly a consolation prize. The search for the right person to drag Italian football out of its deepest postwar rut may have been messy. It may also have landed where it needed to.