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Italy's football federation has appointed former national team player Paolo Maldini as technical supervisor of the country's national teams, marking the first major step in a wider rebuild after Italy failed to reach the 2026 FIFA World Cup finals.
The Italian Football Federation, known by its Italian acronym FIGC, announced the move as the country's football leadership works to set up a new structure for both the senior national team and the youth sides.
Giovanni Malago, who was elected federation president at an extraordinary general assembly last month, said Maldini would take on responsibility for the technical structure of Italy's national teams.
The role will not be limited to the senior squad. According to Malago, Maldini will also oversee the youth national teams as part of a broader system designed to carry Italian football through the next four years.
Maldini will also serve as president of the newly planned "Italy Club," a structure expected to be part of the federation's new national team system.
Brazil-born former Italian footballer Leonardo Araujo will join the project as Maldini's adviser, Malago said in the federation statement.
Malago said he had always aimed to bring Maldini into the federation and believed he was the right person to take charge of the technical setup. He said the two had spent two weeks going over the project in detail, adding that Maldini quickly made clear he would be pleased to bring Leonardo in as an adviser because the work ahead would be broad, difficult and demanding.
The federation president also said he had deep respect for Leonardo and was satisfied with the arrangement.
Malago described the move as a four-year commitment intended to guide Italy toward the 2030 World Cup and the European Championship.
Italian sports media reported that Maldini's new position has no clear precedent in Italian football. Reports also said Antonio Conte and Roberto Mancini are the leading names for the senior national team coaching job, with one of them expected to be announced as the new head coach.
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