The first official public appearance of the new Club Italia leadership took place this morning at the Lega Serie A headquarters in Milan, where FIGC President Giovanni Malagò, Club Italia Technical Director and President Paolo Maldini, and advisor Leonardo presented the Federation's new technical structure and long-term vision for Italian football to the clubs of Serie A. The presentation, which outlined a fundamental change in mentality, placing technique and the quality of play back at the centre of the development pathway, was well received, with Serie A clubs offering an overwhelmingly positive response.

MALAGÒ. Speaking after the meeting, Malagò had this to say to the gathered press: "There is complete alignment between myself, Maldini and Leonardo. We will share all decision making. We have to rebuild the pathway from the ground up, which was a core part of the reasoning behind Maldini and Leonardo’s appointments. There will be a number of important decisions to make. The head coach is naturally the one attracting the most attention, but it is not the only one. There are other roles that need to be filled, and we are very close to finalising those."

MALDINI. Maldini then added: "The feeling is one of great responsibility. The President and I spoke at length before I accepted. The project is ambitious, but exciting, and when Italy calls, it's difficult to say no. The role of FIGC Technical Director didn't previously exist. We will try to establish a clear technical identity and direction for both Club Italia and the Federation's Technical Sector. The fact that President Malagò and I have created this new position is, I believe, already a sign of significant change." Asked about the appointment of the next Italy head coach, Maldini said: "Ideally, we'd like to have the appointment completed by the end of this week, but we're waiting for the person we truly want."

LEONARDO. Leonardo’s thoughts were: "Italian football has fallen behind from a technical perspective. We need to give young players more freedom. It's a question of technical methodology. As for the head coach, we need someone who broadly shares our way of thinking. There are many different types of successful coaches, but there has to be harmony between the head coach and the technical direction. The idea is to create a consistent philosophy that runs from the senior national team all the way through the youth sides."