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The Italian Football Federation announced the appointment of Paolo Maldini as technical director and Leonardo as a consultant, as part of the mission to return to the World Cup after missing the last three editions of the tournament.

Maldini's role will involve participation in all Italian national teams, coaching staff, training sessions, and player scouting. Both Maldini and Leonardo are expected to play a key role in selecting the next coach.

Maldini will also become president of "Club Italia," the body overseeing all Italian teams, men's and women's, across all age groups. This is an unprecedented structure in the history of the Italian Football Federation, giving him control over sporting decisions.

His first task will be to revive the national team, which has missed the last three World Cups in 2018, 2022, and 2026, despite winning the European Championship in 2021.

Maldini must quickly find a successor for Gennaro Gattuso, who resigned after Italy's loss to Bosnia and Herzegovina on penalties in the European playoff final for the 2026 World Cup.

Antonio Conte is one of the candidates for the position. He previously coached Italy between 2014 and 2016 and has been without a club since leaving Napoli.

Maldini will also oversee reforms in the youth sector and will try to give young Italian players a larger role in Serie A, where clubs often prefer to rely on foreign players.

Maldini spent his entire playing career at AC Milan from 1985 to 2009, winning seven Serie A titles and five Champions League titles. He earned 126 caps for Italy, playing in four World Cups and three European Championships, reaching the finals of the 1994 World Cup and Euro 2000.

After retiring, Maldini returned to AC Milan as sporting director in 2019, and many fans considered his departure in 2023 one of the worst decisions made by the club's American owner, Jerry Cardinale.

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