A legendary manager could be headed to Italy.
The Italian Football Federation reached out to Pep Guardiola about the possibility of making him the men's team's next head coach, Sam Marsden of ESPN reported on Monday.
However, the conversation lasted "barely one minute," per ESPN, as Guardiola intends to take time off after leaving Manchester City this summer.
Guardiola has also been contacted by three other national teams, ESPN reported.
The 55-year-old Spaniard is coming off a decade with Man City, leading the Premier League club to 17 major trophies.
In overseeing the most successful period in City’s history in his decade in charge, Guardiola has spent longer at the club than he did at Barcelona (2008-12) and Bayern Munich (2013-16).
His biggest achievement at City has been winning the Premier League-Champions League-FA Cup treble in the 2022-23 season, emulating the feat of Manchester United in 1999.
Guardiola has also changed the face of English soccer in general, bringing a style of football — a possession-based approach that started with playing the ball out from the goalkeeper or defence — that ended up being mimicked across the country, from kids’ teams at grassroots level to rival teams in the Premier League.
Italy, meanwhile, has won four World Cup titles but failed to qualify for each of the past two tournaments.
Its manager position is currently vacant.
--with files from The Associated Press
