ISTANBUL / Ahmed Hassan / Anadolu

The Italian Football Federation announced on Saturday the appointment of Italian football legend Paolo Maldini as the technical director of the federation, in an effort to restructure the national team after its failure to qualify for the World Cup for the third consecutive time.

The federation said in a statement: 'The president of the Italian Football Federation, Giovanni Malagò, is pleased to announce that Paolo Maldini has accepted the position of technical director of the federation. Maldini will take on this role alongside Leonardo as an advisor.'

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Maldini (58) signed a four-year contract with terms described as favorable to the Italian Football Federation, and will take on his new role in an unprecedented position within the federation, overseeing the entire national team pathway.

According to the statement, the first task for Maldini and Leonardo will be to identify the right coach to lead the Italian national team in the upcoming phase. Names favored by Malagò have been circulating for some time, including Antonio Conte and Roberto Mancini.

This appointment comes at the worst stage in the history of Italian football and the modern national team, as Italy has missed three consecutive World Cup tournaments, and its clubs have also been absent from the podium in UEFA competitions.

After retiring from playing with AC Milan in 2009, following more than 900 matches with the club, Maldini returned to Milan in a technical capacity, serving as the club's technical director before his controversial departure, which received extensive media coverage in 2023.

He is credited with reshaping the team that won the Serie A title in the 2021-2022 season, the club's first league title in eleven years.