In the darkest moments… Buffon rejects the plan to save the Italian national team

Gianluigi Buffon has shocked the Italian Football Federation after he decided to turn down an offer to return to first-team coaching at a time when the Azzurri are going through one of their darkest periods in their history.

The newspaper revealedLa Gazzetta dello Sport“The technical director of the Italian federation, Paolo Maldini, contacted Buffon directly and offered him a practical position in the Club Italia project, responsible for the supervision of all national teams.

Maldini banked on Buffon’s popularity and his vast experience as Italy’s all-time leading scorer and the last goalkeeper to win the World Cup, in addition to his deep knowledge of the current generation, to lead a rebuilding phase after the World Cup qualifier disaster against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Buffon previously served as Italy national team coordinator before the resignations of coach Gennaro Gattuso and federation president Gabriele Gravina after they failed to qualify for the World Cup for the third time in a row last March.

Although the Italian legend seriously considered the offer, he informed Maldini that the time was not right for a return, preferring to remain away from football since his departure last April and devote himself to family and finishing his studies in preparation for a managerial future.