17 minutes agoPirlo in Italy fails, unusual reason revealed
Periskopi(an hour ago)
(an hour ago)With Andrea Pirlon seemingly less and less likely to take the lead in Italy's nationals because of his relationship with a Russian betting company, the Italian Football Federation has resumed research for the young coach, with Antonio Conten, Roberto Mancin, Stefano Piolin and Rafflee Padalnon among candidates.
Italy had previously received rejections from Carlo Andrelott and Pep Guardillal, with technical director Paolo Maldini and special adviser Leonardo turning their attention to Pirlo.
However, his role as the global ambassador of a Russian betting company has caused strong reactions in Italy, even threats with legal action in the event it was named “Azaurs coach”.
For this reason, the federation's leaders have been forced to go further down to the candidate list, moving to what is considered “Plani D”, including the return to the bench of Antonio Conte or Roberto Mancin.
Of these two names, Mancini seems more willing to accept the task and would also be a less costly choice. However, as former coach of the National of Italy, neither he nor Cte would be pleased to be considered only after the Pirlo option has run into problems.
By “La Gazzetta dello Sport”, some cheap trainers are also on the candidate list.
One of them is Stephano Pioli, who has closely cooperated with Paolo Maldini in Milan, where together they won the title of Serie A. However, he was dismissed from Fiorentina just weeks after the start of last season.
Another alternative is Raffaele Paddinno, considered a coach with a profile similar to Pirlon. He prefers ball-based football and follows the philosophy of his mentor, Gian Piero Gasperini.
The 42-year-old has held several impressive seasons with Monza, Fiorentina and Atalanta.
He took the lead in Atalanta in November 2025, when the team threatened the crash area, and managed to climb it to sixth place in Serie A.
However, Paldinno and the leaders of Atalanta failed to find a common strategy for the future, so this summer the parties decided to discontinue co-operation with bilateral agreements.
