Maldini offered unprecedented powers to take on Italy role and is a bigger priority than Conte

Newly-elected FIGC President Giovanni Malagò is pushing to appoint both Antonio Conte and Paolo Maldini to leadership roles within the Italy national team set-up, but the appointment of the Milan legend in the role of technical director is currently the bigger priority and the Italian FA are willing to offer him unprecedented powers according to Thursday’s reports.

According to reports from La Gazzetta dello Sport, Malagò’s ideal plan is to appoint Maldini as technical director of the Italy national team and then Conte as the head coach. This plan is reportedly supported by the Lega Serie A and its representatives, who gave Malagò their support in the recent FIGC Presidential elections.

La Gazzetta dello Sport suggests that the Italian FA would seek to appoint Maldini as technical director before bringing in Conte as head coach.

If Maldini were to accept, he would be given unprecedented powers as the leader of the new ‘Club Italia’, which would see him have full control over the technical and youth sectors of the national team set-up.

It has also been suggested that there could potentially be a more prominent role for Gianfranco Zola in this new set-up: The former Italy international is currently serving as the vice-President of the Lega Pro (Serie C).

These ideas are expected to be discussed at length at the next meeting of the federal council on Wednesday.

There are some causes for concern, however, as La Gazzetta dello Sport hints that there is not much of a back-up plan at this stage, while SportItalia reported on Wednesday that Maldini is not entirely convinced about taking over as technical director of the Italy national team.