The Italian coach was thrown into chaos after Pirlo withdrew his resignation saying Maldini was resigning

Italy failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. Then they watched it from home as the rest of the world played.

And now, as they try to rebuild, the process has fallen into the kind of scandal that explains how they got into this mess in the first place.

Andrea Pirlo was removed from the position of head coach of Italy due to his association with the Russian sports betting platform, which led to great political pressure on FIGC president Giovanni Malago to block his appointment.

Pirlo confirmed in a statement that he was informed on Sunday night that he is no longer on the list of candidates for the job.

Pirlo currently has a contract with Dubai club United FC and also works as a global brand ambassador for Russian betting provider Fonbet.

He emphasized that the cooperation was “only commercial and sporting in nature” – but after reviewing the contract documents, the leadership of the association around Malaga came to a different conclusion.

The federation’s lawyer spent the weekend examining the contract and found that it was not directly linked to his role as manager of United FC, managed by Sergey Lomakin, but was a personal partnership.

The main candidate for FIGC is Pep Guardiola, who turned down the opportunity. Carlo Ancelotti also refused.

That left Pirlo as an option supported by technical director Paolo Maldini – the only one appointed two days ago – and his mentor Leonardo.

Malago’s chosen one was Roberto Mancini, who had resigned from Al-Sadd in June and was ready for a second term in charge. Mancini is reported to feel “abandoned” by the coalition and is furious that he has been cheated.

Malago picks up the pieces

Now Malago is left to pick up the pieces.

“A new coach? I’ve been getting tons of messages since this morning,” said the FIGC president.

“I will talk to everyone as soon as I can, as I should.” He continued: “You will come soon, tomorrow I will prepare you.”

When he was pressed that Thiago Motta was a candidate, his answer was: “I will not say yes or no, who was I referring to when I talked about shameful situations?

The fallout extended to Maldini, who resigned as technical director, and Leonardo.

Even Italian politics has been drawn into it. Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, speaking at the launch of plans for a new Roma stadium, was asked about the situation.

Malago insists that the big picture is clear even if the next step is not. “To restore our credibility of competition at the highest level, where nothing is guaranteed, you need to work for children who are now between the ages of 13 and 16 years old,” he said.

“For this, you need to change the whole process in terms of training and culture, and this includes the coach. The ideas are very clear.”