Pep Guardiola reportedly declines opportunity to take over as Italy national team head coach

Former Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola is still looking for his next job. Despite speaking with members of the Italian Football Federation (FICG) about taking over as the head coach of Italy’s national team, Guardiola reportedly declined the opportunity, per The Athletic.

FICG technical director Paolo Maldini and federation head Giovanni Malago confirmed the organization spoke with Guardiola about the role, but those talks reportedly stagnated, leading to Guardiola allegedly turning down the job, per The Athletic.

Guardiola, 55, is seeking his next role after leaving Manchester City in May. He excelled with the club over 10 seasons, going 416-87-90. He won six Premier League titles with the team.

Considered one of the greatest managers of all time, Guardiola has yet to coach at an international level. Prior to his success at Manchester City, Guardiola excelled at Bayern Munich and Barcelona.

Due to his past success, Guardiola remains one of the most intriguing options on the coaching market. He should, essentially, be able to pick his next destination.

Italy, meanwhile, is looking to get back on track after its national team failed to qualify for the past three World Cups. The team’s most recent failure to qualify led to former head coach Gennaro Gattuso and FICG president Gabriele Gravina leaving their positions.

Italy last won the World Cup in 2006. Since then, the team failed to advance out of the group stage in both 2010 and 2014 before missing the event in 2018, 2022 and 2026.

Other than Guardiola, Italy has confirmed it spoke to current Brazil head coach Carlo Ancelotti about the position. Ancelotti is under contract with Brazil through 2030.