Paolo Maldini has been out of work since leaving AC Milan, but his name has been mentioned as a potential saviour for Italian football.
Italy’s World Cup play-off loss to Bosnia has deepened the wounds as they have failed to qualify for the biggest tournament in football for the third time in a row. The pens have been sharpened and there is talk of needing major reform from the top brass down to the grass roots.
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Indeed, Serie A and calcio has been sowing the seeds of a crisis for some time now, so a big shake-up is most likely on the cards and not just a change in head coach. Quotidiano Sportivo are among the outlets to suggest that Maldini is a name who could replace Gabriele Gravina as the head of the FIGC.
Maldini and Ricky Massara were dismissed by Milan at the end of the 2022-23 campaign, having called for the ownership to invest more. There have since been many calls for the former captain to return, and he is believed to have turned down other offers since, including from Saudi clubs.
Abodi: Maldini a ‘wonderful person’
The Minister of Sport, Andrea Abodi, spoke on RTL 102.5 on Thursday morning. He answered some questions on the future of the FIGC and Gabriele Gravina, with his words relayed by MilanNews.
“I think this phase requires a period of work, in which solutions are put in place to problems that the system has not been able to address and resolve in an ordinary manner,” he began.
“I therefore hope that the conditions are in place, also requested by the Federal Council, for a commissionership that will allow this period to be given substance and then allow the Federation to move towards new elections.
“If we focused only on elections, we would not solve the problems. Since it has been discussed for years, let’s find solutions by using the commissioner, who represents a great opportunity: a figure who also comes from the world of football, who knows it and who, if possible, has not had major compromises with a system that, with this defeat, I believe has closed a cycle.
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“A defeat we would have gladly done without, because we all hoped to go to America, Mexico and Canada, not only us older ones but especially the young people, who have never seen a World Cup. A commissioner structure is not Just one person, it’s something more.
“All the elements must be made available, including ours, with measures that help the football system evolve and overcome difficulties that are not only economic, but also model-related. This is why one cycle has ended and another must begin.
“Paolo Maldini? Maldini is a wonderful person and an extraordinary footballer, but there are many others. I believe these decisions are up to the football system: in the reflections and decisions that will be made, they must come first. This is the respect we want to show the system and the support we intend to offer.”
They need people like Maldini, Baggio, and Totti guys who truly grew up in the youth systems and built legacies. Only those guys really understand what happens.
Plus, among them, Maldini is the only one with a child who went through the youth ranks and is playing for a respectable team.
They will regret Maldini will destroy Italy Maldini is our legend but also dictator Italy cannot afford people like Maldini right now
dictator who accept peanuts budget & salary cap to give us scudetto?
it’s different between being strong personality & egoistic dictator,
dictator is like someone who just bcs he knew bit moneyball algo & Ai, think he understand football more than legend like Maldini, Baggio, Capello, Sacchi..
Maldini can’t captained players like Rhino, Pirlo, Sheva, Pippo, Rui, Kaka, Cafu, Stam, R9, Dinho, Beckham if he has lame mentality like u
900 page documentation Bobby Baggio put together and put into place .No more than three foreign players in serie A teams playing in games.More playing times for younger Italian players. If all this was put into place in the very first place Italia wouldn’t be in this situation. The writing has been on the wall for a while.