"Dreaming costs nothing right now." That was Leonardo Bonucci at the Laureus World Sports Awards in Madrid, half-joking, half-serious, putting Pep Guardiola's name forward as Italy's next national team coach.
Coming from most people, it would be easy to dismiss. Coming from a Euro 2020 winner who recently worked as Rino Gattuso's assistant, it lands differently. Bonucci knows the Italian setup from the inside, and he's clearly concluded it needs something radical.
Italy just missed out on the 2026 World Cup. Again. The rebuild conversation is already underway, with a new federation president due to be elected on June 22, and names like Antonio Conte, Massimiliano Allegri, and Roberto Mancini already doing the rounds. That's a shortlist of safe, familiar options — exactly the kind of thinking that's gotten Italy into this mess twice in a decade.
Why Guardiola's Italy connection is real
The financial case against this happening is overwhelming. Guardiola earns an estimated €25 million per year at Manchester City, where he still has one year left on his contract and two trophies in play this season. The Italian federation cannot get close to those numbers.
But the emotional pull is genuine. Guardiola moved to Brescia in 2001, later joined Roma, and formed a deep bond with coach Carlo Mazzone — a man he's repeatedly credited as one of the most formative influences of his career. He's gone back to Brescia in recent years. In February, he was spotted watching a Lega Pro match with the same focus he'd bring to a Champions League night. That's not nostalgia tourism. That's someone who still feels something for Italian football.
Whether that feeling is strong enough to walk away from club football at the peak of his powers is another question entirely. Guardiola has never managed a national team. The rhythms are completely different — less daily control, longer gaps between games, less ability to shape the squad through the transfer market. For a coach who obsesses over every detail, giving that up is a significant ask.
What Italy actually needs
The case for a bold appointment is real. Italy's problems aren't tactical — they're structural and psychological. A nation that invented catenaccio and produced Sacchi's AC Milan now watches its national team stumble out of World Cup qualifying against sides it should be brushing aside. The federation needs someone who can change the culture, not just tweak the system.
That's what makes the Guardiola idea appealing even if it's ultimately unworkable. His salary demands alone make any serious negotiation nearly impossible. But the conversation it's sparked — about whether Italy needs a genuine outsider rather than another recycled appointment — is the right one to be having.
Bonucci put it plainly: "If there is a real desire to start from scratch, I would begin with the possibility of having Guardiola. That would mean a radical change from everything that has happened."
Italy's betting odds for the 2028 Euros and beyond will look very different depending on whether the federation is brave or cautious on June 22. Right now, caution is the default. It's produced two consecutive World Cup absences.
