Silvio Baldini

Silvio Baldini, head coach of the Italy Under-21 national team since July 2025, has been linked with an interim role leading the senior Azzurri following Gennaro Gattuso's resignation in early April 2026. With FIGC elections scheduled for 22 June 2026 and no permanent appointment expected before then, Baldini's existing position within the Italian football structure makes him the logical bridge candidate. His assistant with the Under-21s is former Italy international Andrea Barzagli.

Baldini was born on 11 September 1958 in Massa, near Carrara, and has spent four decades in Italian football management, almost entirely in the lower divisions. He coached at clubs including Siena, Empoli, Catania, Lecce, Parma and Pescara, winning the 2023 Serie C Panchina d'Oro for his work promoting Palermo to Serie B in the 2021-22 season. He guided Pescara to Serie B promotion again in June 2025, the achievement that brought him to national attention and led to his Under-21 appointment a month later. His coaching career began in 1984 with the amateur side Bagnone, where he achieved immediate promotion.

Baldini is an unconventional choice for a senior national team role given his career at lower league level, but the FIGC's current position is one of necessity rather than preference. His Under-21 appointment gives him institutional legitimacy and means Italian youth players who may form the next senior squad already know him. The more significant question is whether the incoming FIGC president, expected to be decided in June, will retain Baldini or appoint a higher-profile replacement as Italy begins its long road back to World Cup qualification.