Why Malagò blocked Pirlo’s Italy appointment

Andrea Pirlo has recently confirmed that he is no longer in the running to take over as the next head coach of the Italy national team, and reports in Italy indicate that political pressure over FIGC President Giovanni Malagò led to this outcome.

Report: Malagò responsible for blocking Pirlo appointment

The search for a new Italy head coach has descended into chaos. FIGC technical director Paolo Maldini had originally sought to appoint either Carlo Ancelotti or Pep Guardiola, but after learning that neither would be joining the project, he decided to turn to Pirlo instead.