Andrea Pirlo has officially been ruled out of the running to become the next head coach of the Italian national football team. The 2006 World Cup-winning midfielder confirmed the development on Monday, revealing that his candidacy was derailed by political controversy surrounding a commercial sponsorship deal.
Several Italian politicians raised strong objections to Pirlo's contract as an ambassador for the Russian betting firm Fonbet. Critics argued that the head coach of the national team should not hold associations that conflict with Italy's diplomatic support for Ukraine amid the ongoing war with Russia.
Pirlo, who had been prepared to leave his current managerial role at Dubai United to take over the national team, defended his agreement. Taking to Instagram, he wrote: "I heard last night that I’m no longer the candidate for the Italy national team job." He explained that the partnership was "exclusively for commercial and sports" purposes linked to his job in the United Arab Emirates. Pirlo added, "Attributing a political significance to that collaboration means attributing beliefs to me that I have never expressed and don't belong to me."
Even before the sponsorship controversy, Pirlo's potential appointment was met with skepticism from some fans due to his previous unsuccessful managerial stints in charge of Juventus and Sampdoria.
With Pep Guardiola having previously turned down the Italy job, attention has now shifted back to former national team managers Antonio Conte and Roberto Mancini, who are once again being discussed for the vacancy. The Azzurri have been without a permanent coach since Gennaro Gattuso left by mutual consent in April, following a World Cup qualifying play-off defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina that caused Italy to miss out on a third consecutive World Cup.
Conte previously managed Italy between 2014 and 2016, winning 14 of his 25 matches alongside six draws and five defeats. He led the nation at Euro 2016, where they eliminated defending champions Spain in the round of 16 before being knocked out on penalties by Germany in the quarter-finals.
Mancini then led the team from 2018 to 2023, famously guiding Italy to European Championship glory in 2021 by defeating England on penalties in the final at Wembley. However, his tenure also saw Italy fail to qualify for the 2022 World Cup following a shock play-off defeat to North Macedonia.
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