"Our roots must not be a source of nostalgia or a burden." That line from Giovanni Malago, delivered before he was even elected, tells you everything about the size of the job he just walked into.
Malago was voted in as FIGC president on Monday with 68.58% of the vote, defeating Giancarlo Abete at the federation's assembly in Rome. He takes over from Gabriele Gravina, who resigned following April's playoff defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina — Italy's third consecutive failure to qualify for the World Cup. Even Gravina admitted on the way out: "I should have left earlier."
The full scale of the damage
Three World Cups missed. Head coach Gennaro Gattuso gone. Gianluigi Buffon out as national team delegation head. Italian clubs subsequently crashing out of European competition. This isn't a rough patch — this is the worst state Italian football has been in since the mid-1980s.
Roberto Baggio had been warning for years that Italy's youth development system was broken. Nobody listened loudly enough. Now Malago inherits both the wreckage and the to-do list: appoint a new men's national team coach, rebuild the academy pipeline from scratch, and get a credible project in place for the 2032 European Championship Italy is co-hosting with Turkey.
That co-hosting role adds a layer of pressure that can't be ignored. A nation that has failed to qualify for three consecutive World Cups going into a home tournament — the optics alone demand urgent, structural change, not just a new manager and a motivational speech.
What Malago actually has to do
The 67-year-old businessman and former head of the Italian National Olympic Committee won the vote, but votes don't fix academies. His first real test is the coaching appointment — whoever he picks for the Azzurri job will set the tone for everything that follows. A bold, forward-thinking choice signals genuine intent. A safe, nostalgic one signals more of the same.
"Alone I can do nothing, together we can do everything," Malago said after his election. The federation is fractured, the clubs are embarrassed, and the fans are furious. Whether he can actually unite those groups is a different question entirely.
For anyone thinking about Italy's odds at Euro 2032 as a co-host, they're a long way from being a reliable bet. The infrastructure will be there. Whether the team will be is far less certain.
Gravina had been in charge since 2018. Seven years. Three missed World Cups. He told reporters he should have left sooner. He was right.
