La Russa on Pirlo as Italy coach: 'God help us,' calling it a leap in the dark after Guardiola pursuit fizzled

Political pushback

The likely nomination of Andrea Pirlo as the new head coach of the Italian national team has drawn sharp criticism from the country's second-highest institutional figure, Senate President Ignazio La Russa. Speaking by phone with ANSA, La Russa tempered his respect for the FIGC leadership with undisguised alarm.

I esteem Malagò, Leonardo and Maldini, in that order, and so I did not make immediate statements on Pirlo as Italy coach also out of respect for them, and now I am speaking only because you called me: God help us.

La Russa, a well-known football fan and Inter supporter, stressed that while Pirlo was a great champion as a player, his record as a coach makes the appointment a gamble. He contrasted the choice with the names he had expected the FIGC to pursue.

I thought the choice was Conte or Mancini.

The Guardiola shadow

La Russa linked his unease directly to the media spectacle surrounding Pep Guardiola. The FIGC had publicly courted the Manchester City manager, a pursuit widely seen as symbolic before settling on Pirlo. La Russa suggested the Guardiola saga was never realistic.

It was obvious that Guardiola would say no, it was written in the stars. That media exposure was just a way to get to Pirlo more painlessly.

He then deployed a phrase that became the day's headline across Italian media: "After the Guardiola media trial balloon, I would hate for the mountain to have given birth to a mouse, the Pirlo mouse." The senator added that he had previously warned FIGC president Giovanni Malagò via a private message, recalling past missteps with Gian Piero Ventura and Gennaro Gattuso: "This, let's say, is their best version: but it is still a leap in the dark."

Abodi's cautious optimism

Sports Minister Andrea Abodi struck a more measured tone. Speaking to Sky Tg24, he framed the appointment as a process rather than a finished product and withheld judgment until results arrive on the pitch.

The field will tell us whether this was a gamble or a far-sighted choice. I remain the first supporter of the coach and of the national team, which for me is the team of the heart.

Abodi nonetheless questioned the FIGC's handling of the Guardiola approach, remarking that without a firm "yes" from the Catalan coach, the episode should have remained internal. He noted that Guardiola and Pirlo are "alternatives so far apart" that the public courtship only set the stage for disappointment.

Media and social backlash

Italian newspapers greeted the Pirlo appointment with near-unanimous skepticism. Corriere della Sera described it as a "step backwards" and a "gamble," noting that after attempts to hire Carlo Ancelotti, Guardiola and Roberto Mancini, "something went wrong." La Repubblica called Pirlo "a predestined man still looking for a destination," flagging a risk of "Milanista cronyism." Il Fatto Quotidiano underlined what it called an abyssal distance between Guardiola and Pirlo. Corriere dello Sport, La Stampa, Il Giornale, Libero and Il Foglio all published critical takes.

Former players directed their fire at the process rather than the man. Massimo Mauro told Gazzetta dello Sport the choice was a "big bet" but added that Malagò "should have avoided all this mess." Marco Tardelli asked bluntly in Repubblica: "Why do the good ones keep saying no?"

On social media, the verdict was harsher. Widely shared comments predicted Italy would fail to qualify even for Euro 2028, called the decision senseless, and judged it a potential own goal for a federation that had promised a rebuild anchored to a proven winner.

The Russia contract demand

A separate political front opened via deputy Benedetto Della Vedova of +Europa. He demanded that Pirlo sever ties with Fonbet, a Russian betting company for which the former midfielder serves as a global ambassador.

Pirlo a few months ago made a choice that is for me incomprehensible and wrong, that of becoming ambassador worldwide for Fonbet, the top betting agency in Russia. I hope the new Italy coach feels the need to rescind the Fonbet contract, also considering Italy's current position towards Russia.

Della Vedova acknowledged that the gambling sector is not covered by EU sanctions but argued that a public figure of Pirlo's stature should weigh the public meaning of private business decisions. He closed by saying real discussion of Russia can resume only once Vladimir Putin ends his "violent and illegal invasion of Ukraine and his hybrid war against us Europeans."