Abete warns Malagò against reversing FIGC governance reforms
Giancarlo Abete claims the Italian Football Federation is reverting to old power structures following the turmoil surrounding Paolo Maldini’s resignation and the blocked Andrea Pirlo appointment.
Former FIGC presidential candidate Giancarlo Abete has issued a stark warning to President Giovanni Malagò, arguing that any decision to appoint a new Italy national team coach prior to selecting a successor for the technical director role would negate the structural reforms promised during the recent election. Abete contends that such a move would signal a return to previous governance models, effectively rendering the creation of the technical director position redundant.
The controversy stems from the recent resignation of technical director Paolo Maldini and special advisor Leonardo, which was precipitated by the blocked appointment of Andrea Pirlo as head coach. Pirlo’s selection was halted due to his existing contract as a global brand ambassador for Fonbet, a Russian gambling company. Maldini had only been appointed to the technical director role 16 days prior to the resignations, a position established to grant greater autonomy to the national team’s sporting direction.
Abete suggested that the initial recruitment strategy was flawed from the outset, noting that the appointment process appeared to pivot to Pirlo only after Pep Guardiola declined the head coach position. He remarked that the resignations had not yet been formally formalised and that his comments were a reaction to news reports rather than official confirmation. However, he emphasised that the sequence of future appointments remains critical to the federation’s integrity.
Reports indicate that Malagò may proceed with appointing Roberto Mancini as the new coach before finalising a replacement for Maldini. Abete argued that this approach is antithetical to Malagò’s election platform, which emphasised granting significant authority to the technical director. He pointed out that previous FIGC presidents had personally funded their roles as Presidents of Club Italia, suggesting that delegating authority to a dedicated technical director was a logical and necessary evolution for the institution.
The former candidate urged the federation to maintain its project of identifying a technical director first, stating that deviating from this order would mean "nothing has changed." He acknowledged that while there may have been a misunderstanding regarding the intended rapport between the president and the technical director, the structural priority must remain clear to avoid reverting to the old ways of doing things.
