Gianluigi Buffon has waded into Italy's chaotic hunt for a new national team coach, saying that if the choice were his alone, Antonio Conte would already have the job.
"If I were the sporting director, I would first propose Antonio Conte, then Baldini and then others," Buffon said, according to a report by Israeli outlet ONE, putting the former Juventus and Inter boss firmly ahead of the other names being floated in Rome.
It is a significant intervention from a man who, until April, sat inside the federation himself. Buffon resigned as the Azzurri's delegation chief alongside federation president Gabriele Gravina after Italy lost on penalties to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the World Cup qualifying play-off, extending the country's absence from the tournament to a third straight cycle. Gennaro Gattuso quit as head coach days later.
The search for Gattuso's successor has since turned into one of Italian football's messier sagas. New federation president Giovanni Malagò, elected in June, brought in Paolo Maldini and Leonardo as sporting directors with a mandate to identify the next coach, and the pair moved to install Andrea Pirlo.
That plan collapsed within weeks. Pirlo's role as an ambassador for the Russian betting company Fonbet, which also sponsors Russia's national side, triggered a political storm and objections from Italian lawmakers; Malagò vetoed the appointment, and Maldini and Leonardo resigned just two weeks into their jobs.
Buffon did not hold back on that episode either, describing the handling of the Pirlo affair as "a clumsy, unsuccessful political attempt," per ONE's report.
With no permanent coach in place, Silvio Baldini has been running the team on an interim basis. Buffon's endorsement of him as his second choice is notable given Baldini has himself played down his chances of keeping the job long-term, telling reporters ahead of Italy's recent friendlies that he lacks "that curriculum" for the post on a permanent basis.
On Roberto Mancini, the Euro 2020-winning coach and, alongside Conte, one of the two names most consistently linked with the vacancy, Buffon was more measured. He called Mancini "technically the right choice" but made clear his personal preference remained Conte.
Conte, who led Napoli to the Scudetto in May before the two sides parted by mutual agreement in June, has been strongly linked with a return to the Italy dugout he last occupied between 2014 and 2016, when he took the Azzurri to the Euro 2016 quarter-finals.
Buffon also revealed he had turned down an administrative offer from Maldini and Leonardo during their brief spell in charge, saying he needed time with his family after decades without an extended break away from football.
More broadly, the 48-year-old argued Italian football's problems run deeper than any single appointment. "We've heard many words for years, but nothing becomes a real project," he said, adding that coaches in Italy "are afraid to give young players a chance" and that the sport has "completely changed in the last 20 years" while Italy has been slow to adapt.
