As Massimiliano Allegri and Antonio Conte jostle to seize and keep hold of second place, the two coaches are in another battle off the field.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) write this morning, Allegri and Conte are the leading candidates to take over from Gennaro Gattuso as the new head coach of the Italian national team, along with Roberto Mancini.
Read SempreMilan ad-free and get access to exclusive news. Click here for a free trial!
It primarily seems to be a race between the two coaches with the most active league titles. Allegri’s stock is rising because, despite Milan’s reassurances, a lot of the vision for the future depends on getting a Champions League place.
If the Rossoneri finish inside the top four – as they are currently on course to do – Allegri will demand more decision-making power in selecting reinforcements. If they don’t sign every player he puts forward, Max at least expects to have players who can adapt to his style.
Otherwise, he will push to terminate a contract that, with qualification for the Champions League, will be automatically extended until 2028, with a further option until 2029.
Antonio, Max and Roberto
The three aforementioned coaches start from different positions. Mancini will free himself from his agreement with Qatari club Al Sadd in a few weeks and will be available. Time will not be an advantage because the federal president’s election is scheduled for June 22nd, and by then Conte and Allegri’s fates will be known.
With his statements, Conte has made it clear that he’s attracted by the prospect of returning to the national team dugout, and Aurelio De Laurentiis has suggested he won’t block him from doing so. Indeed, he’s opened the door to a separation. A second Conte as Italy coach, in short, is credible.
For Allegri, however, the path to a possible separation from the Rossoneri is less clear for now. Milan want to continue with Max at the helm and has already begun planning for next season, from the pre-season (which includes a tour of Australia) to the transfer window.
The former Juventus coach, for his part, hasn’t ruled out the possibility of taking the Italy job, and last Friday he simply stated that there is still no president. The reason? He agreed to sign with Milan in May 2025 and begin the Rossoneri’s restoration, with the ‘promise’ of aiming to win the league title with significant investments over the years of his project.
If this promise fails, i.e. if the management do not conduct a transfer campaign worthy of his expectations, a departure cannot be ruled out. It goes without saying that Cardinale and his men would clearly need to be convinced to release their coach. It’s unlikely they’ll do so after June 22nd.
In fact, this possibility is firmly ruled out by Milan headquarters, but in football, you never say never. Especially since the national team is involved, which is a fascinating challenge for all coaches.
As coach, Allegri could freely choose from the pool of players eligible for the Azzurri. He wouldn’t have ‘transfer restrictions’, but neither would he have the daily routine and adrenaline of training that he missed after his two recent spells with the Old Lady.
He would find several players he’s already coached, just like Conte, and both would likely have two-year contracts that would extend for another two seasons if they qualify for Euro 2028. Italy’s true goal is to avoid missing a fourth consecutive World Cup in 2030. With Max, Antonio or another.
