# Italy in crisis: Maldini says talks held with Guardiola and Ancelotti

Paolo Maldini, a senior Italian football official, confirmed that the Italian Football Federation has held discussions with top managers Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti amid the national team's recent poor results. The talks signal an urgent search for a high-profile coach to lead Italy's revival. This matters as Italy prepares for critical upcoming qualifiers.

**Importance:** 3/5

## Sources

### Sports
- [The Guardian Sport](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jul/23/paolo-maldini-italy-pep-guardiola-carlo-ancelotti-world-cup-new-manager) — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 14:41:53 GMT
- [BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c36d0291z6no?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss) — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 18:57:04 GMT
- [Fox News Sports](https://www.foxnews.com/sports/italy-in-crisis-federation-sounds-out-pep-guardiola-and-carlo-ancelotti-for-coach) — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 16:31:54 -0400
- [BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cd7len4lvy9o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss) — Fri, 24 Jul 2026 09:47:25 GMT

### World
- [Al Jazeera](https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2026/7/24/real-madrid-legend-ancelotti-rivals-barcelona-great-guardiola-for-italy-job?traffic_source=rss) — Fri, 24 Jul 2026 07:58:18 +0000