Pep Guardiola and the Italy national team job. It's a conversation that just won't go away. With the Azzurri looking for stability after yet another turbulent period, Guardiola's name keeps surfacing — and the indications are that the Spanish coach is not entirely dismissing the idea.
Meanwhile, back in Manchester, City are quietly doing their own succession planning. Club sources indicate that conversations have been held with Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca, who has impressed enormously in his first season in the Premier League. It's not a done deal by any stretch, but the interest is genuine and the timing is deliberate.
Why Italy Keep Coming Back to Guardiola
It's not hard to understand the appeal from Italy's perspective. Guardiola is, by most accounts, the finest club manager of his generation. He transformed Barcelona, reinvented Bayern Munich, and then went to Manchester City and won just about everything there is to win. For the Italian Football Federation, the idea of having him lead the Azzurri into a World Cup cycle is almost too tempting to resist.
Guardiola's contract at City runs until the summer of 2025 — and while he has spoken about potentially continuing in club football, he has also previously suggested that managing a national team is something that appeals to him later in his career. Italy, with its tactical tradition and rich footballing culture, would be a natural fit for a coach who loves structure and builds possession-based systems with such precision.
Nothing formal has been presented. But the groundwork is being laid on the Italian side, with federation officials said to be monitoring his contract situation and intentions very closely.
Maresca: The Man City Plan B — or Plan A?
On the other side of this equation sits Enzo Maresca. The Italian coach took Chelsea on in the summer of 2024 with enormous expectation, and by most measures has delivered — playing an attractive, controlled brand of football that has won admirers at boardroom level across the game.
Man City's interest in Maresca predates this season. He was, after all, part of Guardiola's coaching staff at City before moving to Leicester to earn his managerial stripes. He knows the club, knows the system, and crucially, knows the players. That continuity is hugely important for a club that has built its success on a very specific footballing philosophy.
City aren't looking to rush anything. Guardiola remains in post, focused entirely on what he can achieve between now and the end of his current deal. But the club's hierarchy are acutely aware that the post-Pep era will be the defining challenge of their next chapter, and they are leaving nothing to chance.
The Timeline
The expectation is that if Guardiola does leave at the end of his contract, the Italy job will be a serious option for him — and City will move quickly to bring in their preferred replacement. Maresca, at this point, appears to be at or near the top of that shortlist.
Chelsea would understandably resist losing their manager so soon, and any poaching attempt would likely require compensation. But football at this level rarely waits for convenient timing, and if City come calling with Guardiola heading for the door, few scenarios are truly off the table.
For now, both sagas remain in the background, simmering quietly. But as the season edges towards its conclusion, the storylines around Guardiola's future and City's next manager are only going to get louder.
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