Reports have come out that the Italian national team wants to try to appoint Pep Guardiola and, while it’s an incredible idea on paper, the reality seems far more complicated than it looks at first glance.
Guardiola still has another year with Manchester City and I get the feeling that this renewal wasn’t really “just two more years” in the literal sense. It was more a way to avoid that constant farewell atmosphere, the “last season”, “last game against X”, which completely distracts the team. That’s clearly something he wanted to avoid, and it makes sense.
Then there’s the financial aspect, which is probably the biggest obstacle. Guardiola earns around 25 million gross per year, something like 14 million net. In the context of national teams, that’s completely unrealistic. Ancelotti, who is currently the highest-paid national team manager, earns around 10 million a year, and that’s already considered an exceptional figure. Then you have examples like Roberto Martínez with Portugal on around 4 million or Scaloni with Argentina on around 2 million. So even saying “it’s Guardiola”, it’s still a massive jump.
There was a similar case in 2014, when the FIGC managed to appoint Antonio Conte largely through sponsorship deals. They might try to repeat that formula, but it’s still something complicated to put together.
Then there’s the footballing side. I honestly struggle to imagine Guardiola in a national team context. We’re talking about very few training sessions per year, little time to implement ideas, and a style of football that requires very well-drilled patterns, something that has always been the foundation of his success. And on top of that, with this current Italy side, which is far from top level.
And here comes another important point: Guardiola has always managed top teams, with top players, because he deserves that. But the reality is that, today, the Italian national team is not at that level. Historically it’s massive, one of the biggest national teams in the world, but right now? It’s far from that. There are several national teams with more quality and better form.
Of course, he could go, and it would be fascinating to see a manager of this level in a short tournament context, where every detail matters, but I would have much more confidence if it were with a national team at a higher current level.
Conclusion
The idea is excellent and shows that Italy want to change direction, which is already a positive, but there are too many obstacles: financial, tactical and even contextual.
Still, it would be incredible to see Guardiola in international football.