Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has been confirmed as a prime candidate for the Italy head coach job.
Alessandro Costacurta, the vice-commissioner of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), plans to hold talks with Conte over the prospect of a return to the position he left after Euro 2016.
Costacurta said:Â “Among the potential candidates, he would be, for me, the best, I’ll definitely talk with him in a couple of months.”
Speculation has persisted for much of this season over Conte’s future, who has struggled to build on the success of his first season at Stamford Bridge, when he won the Premier League title and reached the FA Cup final.
The former Juventus boss, who admitted this month that “anything is possible” when it comes to his possible plans for next season, has regularly been linked with a move back to his homeland.
“Conte has already shown he can be the national team coach,” said Costacurta. “We saw that at the Euros. The other candidates haven’t yet.
“That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t be happy with Roberto Mancini or Carlo Ancelotti, although Ancelotti seems to have taken himself out of consideration.”
“I’ll tell you directly: Gattuso, no, I won’t contact him. It would be a bit too soon,” he said regarding Gattuso being another candidate .
“I’m sure he’ll be national team coach in a few years because he has everything: character, determination…
“But I like him too much. Picking him now would do him harm. I’m looking for a coach who has developed more knowledge or experience of the dugout at the highest level.”
