The project to review the national team supply chain wanted by Malagò takes shape. The next coach? It’s difficult to get to Guardiola, here’s the identikit and what his mission will be.
Italian football must be re-founded starting from the pitch, the project is long, even beyond the 4 years leading (hopefully) to the 2030 World Cup. Paolo Maldini And Leonardothe men to whom the president of the FIGC Giovanni Malagò has put the future of the national team in their hands, they seem to have clear ideas even if the sea is stormy all around. Italian football has just digested, with difficulty, the shock of the third World Cup experienced as a spectator and is looking to the future imagining how to get back on its feet.
A crossing of the desert with some important but not fundamental stages in between. And, above all, with the feeling of being at the last call, in the government of the best, those who, if they don’t succeed, there is no hope left. Also for this reason Malagò handed over the turnkey project to Maldini and Leonardo: a act of trust and an investment in men and their ideas. Which will not be easy to digest and perhaps not even immediately successful, a condition which would make the path even narrower and more arduous.
Paolo and Leo were clear about this immediately, from the moment Malagò’s “call to arms” arrived – Maldini’s definition -, that summons to which “it would have been difficult to say no”. The condescension, however, ends here. The rest is a a vast program which does not involve too many smoothings, starts from the field and holds together the three souls of Coverciano: the national A team which must produce results from September, the youth teams which are its reservoir and the technical sector at the base of the pyramid. The image is provided by Leonardo and it is effective. Up until now, Italian football has moved forward by changing direction every two or three years, a mistake that has been paid dearly by falling behind.
Where do we start from? From what is taught to the kids: one-on-one football, technique, dribbling and speed. The recipe that has been missing from Italian teams for too long, with very rare exceptions. A modification of the DNA of Italian football which, if the project is successful, will allow the entire system to be changed chips starting from the Coverciano laboratory. “We have fallen far behind” is the diagnosis of the doctors called to the bedside by Malagò. Medicine is first of all inoculating the patient with a new “technical methodology”.
Who is the first coach in line? These are the days of negotiations with Pep Guardiola, before (Maldini dixit) Carlo Ancelotti was also called among the best which also means having raised your head and your aim. If none of these will answer the call, we’ll see. The risk is that the others will be classified as backups, but it is a problem that Maldini and Leonardo will face later. The identikit is someone who thinks like them and is willing to embrace the whole vision.
Maldini again: “The ideal would be to appoint the coach within this week, but even more so to wait for the person we really want. There is a rush but within us not even that much“. And Leonardo: “We want to be the coach as soon as possible but also to clearly define what we want. We have clear ideas in all cases. We need to build an idea, Paolo and I have been accomplices in dreams and ideas for many years now.” Malagò approves, the Serie A clubs apparently also, although they cannot hide some cracks because the idea that the coach could be Andrea Pirlo does not excite.
None other than Urbano Cairo put his face to it: Urbano Cairo: “Compared to the times they gave for the refoundation, it would be important to try to do things a little faster. The first 100 days are crucial, we can’t take 8/10 years: it’s a time that isn’t good even for the Soviet Union. In my opinion the times must be much shorter”.
Now, however, is the time for good intentions and sharing. The only way to convince Maldini to respond to Malagò’s call: “I didn’t know about the initial difficulties, but I felt the ability to do things and everyone’s willingness to participate in the renewal. This was important for the choice, as was the persuasive ability of president Malagò. I put all my strength into convincing Leo, there is total sharing of values and esteem between us. Serie A, in the meeting we had, gave total willingness to accept our sporting projects. My figure didn’t exist before.”
