How Roberto Mancini again became Italy manager: Guardiola, Pirlo and the twists

Such was FIFA’s lavish guest list for the 2026 World Cup final that it was difficult to find a legend’s name missing. Paolo Maldini’s, certainly, was. While football royalty descended on New Jersey, the former Italy captain flew to Barcelona hoping to make Pep Guardiola an offer he could not refuse – Vito Corleone style.Italy had spent three successive World Cup cycles as spectators. The federation wanted resurrection, and Maldini had been handed the blueprint. When he returned, he told the press that the new Azzurri manager would be “ideally” announced in a week.It was. Only, it was not Guardiola, but Roberto Mancini. Maldini wasn’t the one announcing it. He was already gone. This is the saga of the latest Italian job. The story begins with Gabriele Gravina. In 2018, he was elected as the