Italy is planning to sign Spanish manager Pep Guardiola to lead the national football team, in preparation for upcoming major international tournaments, starting with the 2028 European Championship to be held in the United Kingdom and Ireland. According to information published by Sky Italia for the first time, AC Milan legend and technical director of the Italian Football Federation Paolo Maldini met with Guardiola, who is on vacation after leaving Manchester City at the end of last season. The network stated that the meeting, which took place in Barcelona, was not limited only to Guardiola taking over the reins, but extends to building a real Italian project, after the major decline of the team that missed the last three World Cup finals. The former international midfielder has never led a national team; after retiring, he coached Barcelona B, before starting his real journey with his parent club from 2008 to 2012, winning 14 titles in all competitions, most notably the Champions League which he won twice. He then coached Bayern Munich from 2013 to 2016, winning seven titles. Then came the most successful English experience over 10 years with Manchester City, which gave him 20 titles, six of them in the Premier League in addition to the Champions League. Since leaving Barcelona, Guardiola joined Italian club Brescia in the 2001-2002 season, then played the following season with Roma before returning to Brescia again.