“Guardiola is an option to coach Italy, says sports minister.”

The dream of Pep Guardiola taking over the Italian national team is far from being a utopia, assures Andrea Abodi, Italy’s Minister of Sport. In a statement that is already stirring the world of Italian football, Abodi revealed that hiring the former Manchester City manager “is one of the possible options, certainly not an impossible dream.”

Guardiola, who recently concluded his glorious tenure at City, where he won everything there was to win over a decade-long cycle, has a past that strongly connects him to Italy. In addition to having played in Serie A for Roma and Brescia, the Spaniard maintains deep ties with the country, where he has many friends and returns regularly. This connection makes his potential arrival at the Nazionale a real and plausible possibility.

Minister Abodi was direct and emphatic when addressing the issue: “We would have to understand if Guardiola is willing to accept this challenge, considering how much Italy is part of his life journey, and I believe in his feelings.” For Abodi, Guardiola is not just an important coach, but the role of a national team coach entails a different dynamic. “It’s a challenge that, sooner or later, Guardiola will want to face. It’s not a question of money, but of ambition and dreams.”

However, this decision will only be made after the election of the new president of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), scheduled for next month, where Giovanni Malagò and Giancarlo Abete are the main candidates. Abodi emphasizes that “it is not enough to have a coach to build a winning national team; a high-level, integrated, and sustainable project is needed.”

The Minister did not hold back in his criticism of the current management of Italian football, lamenting the regression caused by the “incompetence of the leaders, both of the clubs, the League, and the FIGC itself.” He called for closer collaboration among all sectors to regain the path to excellence: “Opening the stadiums is not enough; we need a real structural revolution.”

Abodi also expressed his disappointment with how former players are ignored in decision-making processes. “Clubs and the League tend to undervalue the experience of former players, as if they lack the ability to manage complex situations. I saw this when Roberto Baggio presented his proposal to the Federation, which was not given due consideration, possibly because it was too revolutionary for a football that is too traditionalist and conservative.”

This warning comes at a time when Italy has failed to qualify for the World Cup for the third consecutive time, a fact that Abodi considers “unacceptable and a shock to the system.” “It feels like it was a century ago, but we won the World Cup in 2006. I hope this failure serves to wake up Italian football, as it is not a lack of talent, but rather a blindness that prevents us from recognizing and valuing what we have.”

With this frank and incisive analysis, Andrea Abodi presents a clear challenge: restoring the glory of the Nazionale requires not only a top coach like Pep Guardiola but, above all, a profound structural change in Italian football. The choice of the new president of the FIGC will be crucial in defining the future of the national team and, who knows, bringing the Catalan genius to transform Italy’s trajectory in world football once and for all.

This article first appeared on Apito Final.