Rome, 9 Aug. (LaPresse) – “Malagò rang me at Easter, saying: ‘There’s a chance I might become president of the FIGC; you’re the person I’d like to have by my side.’ I told him I was available. “In football,” Maldini emphasises, “for me there are only two things: Milan and the national team. Then I didn’t hear from him again. The day before the elections, Malagò rang back: ‘The vote is tomorrow, our chances are good, I’d like you on board.’ I replied: ‘Let’s talk about it.’” Paolo Maldini recounts what happened with the national team, when his work and that of Leonardo ran aground over the choice of Andrea Pirlo as manager and both eventually resigned. The former president of Club Italia does so in a lengthy interview with *Corriere della Sera*, in which he starts from the beginning, recounting his relationship with the new FIGC president, Giovanni Malagò, and the agreements that had been made. At that point, explains the former captain of Milan and the national team, “he asked me to become president of Club Italia. It wasn’t just about reviving the national team. We had to rebuild Italian football from the ground up.” Why be joined by Leonardo? “We share a friendship, values and principles. Leo has great organisational skills, as well as a strong rapport with me. So we set off. And we came up with a new role: technical director. The position of technical director had never featured in the national team’s organisational structure: the manager reported directly to the president. But that wasn’t right: a manager needs to be able to consult with others.” However, “the agreements were revised; consequently, the only thing to do was to resign. In fact, to decline to sign the four-year contract that was due to start on 1 August.”
Maldini: “Guardiola close to accepting, Malagò has revised the terms”
Rome, 9 Aug. (LaPresse) – “Malagò rang me at Easter, saying: ‘There’s a chance I might become president of the FIGC; you’re the person I’d like to have by my side.’ I told him I was available. “In football,” Maldini emphasises, “for me there are only two things: Milan and the national team. Then I didn’t hear from him again. The day before the elections, Malagò rang back: ‘The vote is tomorrow, our chances are good, I’d like you on board.’ I replied: ‘Let’s talk about it.’” Paolo Maldini recounts what happened with the national team, when his work and that of Leonardo ran aground over the choice of Andrea Pirlo as manager and both eventually resigned. The former president of Club Italia does so in a lengthy interview with *Corriere della Sera*, in which he starts from the beginning, recounting his relationship with the new FIGC president, Giovanni Malagò, and the agreements that had been made. At that point, explains the former captain of Milan and the national team, “he asked me to become president of Club Italia. It wasn’t just about reviving the national team. We had to rebuild Italian football from the ground up.” Why be joined by Leonardo? “We share a friendship, values and principles. Leo has great organisational skills, as well as a strong rapport with me. So we set off. And we came up with a new role: technical director. The position of technical director had never featured in the national team’s organisational structure: the manager reported directly to the president. But that wasn’t right: a manager needs to be able to consult with others.” However, “the agreements were revised; consequently, the only thing to do was to resign. In fact, to decline to sign the four-year contract that was due to start on 1 August.”