Andrea Pirlo is set to become the new head coach of the Italian national football team. The agreement, reached after Pep Guardiola declined the offer, provides for a four-year contract worth approximately 1.5 million euros per year, a significantly lower figure than the one reportedly discussed for Guardiola.

The decision was driven by FIGC president Luca Malagò and by technical director Paolo Maldini and Leonardo, who had initially pursued Guardiola. The news was first reported by journalist Fabrizio Romano on social media platform X, stating that Pirlo had accepted the verbal proposal and would sign in the coming days.

However, the FIGC has not yet made any official announcement. According to Il Sole 24 Ore and ANSA, the federation has no announcements planned for the time being, and the agreement still needs to be finalized through bureaucratic steps, including Pirlo's release from his current club, United FC, based in the United Arab Emirates, where the 47-year-old is currently in a training camp in Austria.

The first competitive appointment will be the Nations League in September. According to the schedule reported by Libero, Italy will debut on September 25 at Rome's Stadio Olimpico against Belgium, followed by an away match in Turkey on September 28 and a match at the Stade de France against France on October 2. The group stage will conclude in November.

Pirlo's coaching career includes a stint at Juventus, where he won the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa Italiana in his debut season, followed by a dismissal. He subsequently coached Sampdoria in Serie B and a club in Turkey, before moving to the United Arab Emirates. Among the factors cited for his selection is his work with young players at Juventus and Sampdoria, as the national team is undergoing a generational transition. Italy has failed to qualify for three consecutive World Cups, with the last major achievement being Euro 2020 won under Roberto Mancini.

The choice has sparked mixed reactions. Former Italy international Marco Tardelli, who coached Pirlo at Under-21 level, described the appointment as a plan B in an interview with la Repubblica, while adding that an alternative can sometimes perform as well as or better than a first choice. Tardelli also suggested that Guardiola declined because he felt Italian football was not up to the required standard. Some commentators have drawn parallels with the appointment of Gennaro Gattuso, Pirlo's predecessor, noting similarities in the selection process.