Maldini vs FIGC: A Clash Over Pirlo's Appointment
Paolo Maldini is on a collision course with the FIGC. The former Milan captain and current technical director has, according to Corriere della Sera via Guillaume Pacini, threatened to walk away from his role after the federation’s botched attempt to appoint Andrea Pirlo as Italy coach.
Pirlo had been effectively lined up as the new manager of the men’s national team. The choice seemed made, the announcement a formality. Then the backlash hit.
The storm centred on Pirlo’s work as a global ambassador for Fonbet, a Russian betting company. His appearances at Fonbet events, including those featuring pro-Kremlin figures and Russian veterans of the ongoing war in Ukraine, turned what should have been a bold new chapter for the Azzurri into a public-relations minefield.
The pressure told. The move collapsed.
Now the FIGC finds itself in a mess of its own making. As Il Messaggero, again via Pacini, makes clear, Maldini is highly unlikely to simply absorb the blow and carry on as if nothing happened. If he does stay, it would only be on his terms: full authority over the choice of Pirlo’s successor. No half-measures, no shared responsibility. His pick, his call.
Names are already circulating. Roberto Mancini, the man who delivered Euro 2020, is in the frame. So is Antonio Conte, the demanding, combustible former Italy and Juventus coach. Behind them, a cluster of other candidates hover around the conversation, each linked to the role but none yet elevated above the rest.
For the FIGC, this is more than a misstep. It is a self-inflicted wound.
The federation should have seen this coming. Pirlo’s role with Fonbet was not hidden, not obscure, not buried in fine print. In the current geopolitical climate, the optics were always going to be scrutinised. Instead of pre-empting the reaction, the FIGC walked straight into it.
The fallout is brutal. The federation has already taken a heavy hit to its credibility, and now risks losing the very man tasked with steering its technical vision. If Maldini follows through and resigns, the FIGC faces a vacuum at the top of its sporting structure. If he stays under his conditions, he emerges more powerful than ever, potentially wielding more influence than the federation is comfortable conceding.
Either way, the balance of power has shifted.
At a time when Italian football was supposed to be turning a page, laying foundations for a new era with the national team, the project has instead stumbled at the first step. The Azzurri faithful wanted clarity, ambition, a clean start. They have been handed a controversy, a retreat, and a looming showdown with one of the most respected figures in the country’s football history.
The next appointment will not just define the bench. It will show who really runs the future of the Italy national team.
