Massimiliano Allegri has poured cold water on the idea of him becoming the Italy boss, leaving Antonio Conte as the main candidate.
After Italy failed to qualify for a third straight World Cup, Gennaro Gattuso resigned as the head coach. This led to speculation about his replacement, with Sky even claiming that Allegri is the favourite alongside Conte.
Read SempreMilan ad-free and get access to exclusive news. Click here for a free trial!
There is also talk that Milan have absolutely no intention of losing the main man in their project, which is understandable given the stellar work that Allegri has done so far this season.
Max focused on Milan
As La Gazzetta dello Sport (via MilanPress) report this morning, Conte’s candidacy is growing in likelihood, while Allegri put the brakes on things. The Milan coach has long been a potential national team coach, but he’s not thinking about the Azzurri bench.
He addressed the speculation in Saturday’s pre-Napoli press conference: “In my head, there’s fourth place here and the desire to get used to the Champions League again. Italy? We need a vision for the next ten years, and in any case, I haven’t considered a role as coach.”
While Allegri thinks only of the Rossoneri, Conte’s name is advancing because no one would object to his return. The 2014-16 era was built around an Italy with the magic formula at the back – Buffon, Chiellini, Bonucci, Barzagli – but not elsewhere.
An example? Against Germany, in the quarter-finals, the midfield featured Parolo as the regista, with Sturaro and Giaccherini alongside. That team held off the Germans until the aforementioned penalty shootout.
Roberto Mancini is the coach of the magic at Wembley on 11 July 2021. Mancini would return happily, but there are plenty of drawbacks. Gian Piero Gasperini hasn’t sent any smoke signals from Rome either.
READ MORE: The weight of a nation – Why Italian football entered a tailspin and how Milan can help fix it
