Italy has missed three consecutive World Cups. Three. For a four-time world champion, that's not a rough patch — it's a structural collapse. And the FIGC's answer is Paolo Maldini.
The 58-year-old former AC Milan defender has been appointed technical director of both the Italian Football Federation and the national team. His brief is simple in theory and brutal in practice: fix Italian football.
The Leonardo curveball
The appointment itself wasn't a surprise — Maldini's name had been circulating for days. What nobody saw coming was who he's bringing with him. Brazilian World Cup winner Leonardo, 56, will serve as his advisor. The two are old Milan teammates, and Leonardo holds Italian citizenship, which clears the administrative path for the role.
It's a smart move, actually. Leonardo has worked at the highest levels of club football and brings an outside perspective to a federation that has spent years staring at the same problems with the same people. Whether that translates into results is a different question entirely.
The national team coaching position is still vacant, which means Maldini's first real test — finding the right manager — is still ahead of him. That hire will define whether this appointment is a genuine reset or just a famous name propping up a failing system.
What this means for the azzurri's future
Maldini's legacy as a player is beyond dispute — arguably the greatest defender in AC Milan's history, a man who spent his entire career in one shirt and made it look effortless. But his tenure as Milan's sporting director ended in acrimony in 2023, so his administrative record is more complicated than his playing one.
Italy qualifying for the 2026 World Cup should, on paper, be achievable. The talent pool hasn't dried up entirely. But the federation needs more than a famous face — it needs a coherent youth development philosophy, a stable coaching structure, and a clear identity on the pitch. None of those things appear overnight.
The coaching vacancy is the immediate problem. Until that's filled, everything else is just press conference football.
