Russian gambling ties derail Italy's coach hunt, Pirlo out

In a cramped office at the Italian Football Federation, the ink never dried on Andrea Pirlo's contract as the shadow of a Russian gambling website loomed, forcing the federation to abandon his appointment four months after the World Cup play‑offs fiasco. The episode has turned Italy's search for a new national team coach into a relentless soap opera.

Yesterday Paolo Maldini handed in his contract as technical director after just 16 days on the job, a move that came on the heels of Pirlo being removed as the sole coaching candidate because of his Russian connections. The federation had promised Maldini full autonomy to pick the next coach, a promise now rendered moot.

Pirlo had served for more than a year as the public ambassador of Fonbet, the largest Russian gambling site, and two months ago he quietly attended a meeting at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow with former teammate Marco Materazzi. When his role as Italy's prospective coach emerged, the same Russian link became an insurmountable obstacle.

The former AC Milan defender and Italian national team icon had only joined the federation after securing a guarantee that he could decide the coach without interference, and he immediately promoted his close friend Pirlo. Maldini’s reputation for being direct and uncompromising matched his desire to shape the team’s future.

Sport minister Andrea Abodi publicly labeled Pirlo a "mud figure" and warned against even considering his candidacy, while federation president Giovanni Malagò exercised his veto power to block Maldini’s choice. The political backlash highlighted the depth of the controversy.

Chaos na het vertrek van Maldini: kan Mancini de orde herstellen?

Following the deadlock, Maldini and his advisor Leonardo announced they were stepping away from the Italian football project, leaving the entire selection process back at square one. Their departure dealt a further blow to the federation’s credibility.

The turmoil follows Italy’s disastrous World Cup play‑off loss to Bosnia, which kept the nation out of the global tournament for the third consecutive time and prompted Gennaro Gattuso’s exit as head coach without a successor in place.

Among the names now floated are Antonio Conte, who resigned from Napoli and is eager to return with Giorgio Chiellini as a potential assistant, and Roberto Mancini, the only coach to have kept the national side afloat in the past fifteen years but who left after a lucrative Saudi Arabian offer. Other possibilities include Atalanta manager Raffaele Palladino, unemployed Stefano Pioli who led Milan to the 2022 title, and former world champion Fabio Cannavaro, now coaching Uzbekistan.

Italian bookmakers have already listed Conte and Mancini as the joint favourites for the job, though they caution bettors to stay away from Fonbet, the very site that derailed Pirlo’s bid. The market reflects the split opinion within the country.

The saga underscores how political entanglements and off‑field controversies can stall a nation’s footballing rebuild, especially after missing the World Cup. Italy’s next coach will have to navigate both sporting expectations and the lingering shadow of the Russian gambling scandal.