Pep Guardiola came surprisingly close to becoming Italy’s head coach, according to former Italy technical director Paolo Maldini.
Maldini revealed that Guardiola had been presented with a major project to rebuild Italian football and was so interested that he even began studying the squads and writing down potential line-ups.
Money was not the issue. Guardiola reportedly told Maldini he would accept a salary below that of the previous Italy coach, but ultimately decided against the job after an exhausting decade at Manchester City and a desire to spend more time with his family.
With Guardiola turning down the offer and Maldini later resigning, Italy eventually brought back Roberto Mancini as head coach.
A fascinating “what if?” for Italian football—Guardiola in charge of the Azzurri could have been a completely different story.
